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WILKES-BARRE — A Luzerne County jury convicted a Wapwallopen man on felony animal cruelty charges by neglecting to feed a horse that nearly starved to death.
Chris Dennis Deleur, 41, of Cemetery Road, was found guilty on two felony counts of aggravated cruelty to animals, two misdemeanor counts of neglect of animals and a misdemeanor count of cruelty to animals.
The jury deliberated for less than one hour before returning the verdict following a two day trial before Judge Joseph Sklarosky Jr.
Sklarosky found Deleur guilty on two summary counts of neglect of animals and a summary count of cruelty to animals.
According to the criminal complaint:
Humane officers from the Luzerne County SPCA served a search warrant at a farm where Deleur resides after observing a horse they were familiar with had worsened from 2018, when it was involved in an unrelated animal cruelty case by a former owner.
“The back bone was exposed, the ribs were protruding and hip bones were sticking out,” a humane officer wrote in the criminal complaint.
Other animals on the farm were in satisfactory condition.
An equine veterinarian examined the horse that was identified as a bay mare and estimated to be 15 years old. The veterinarian gave the horse a score of 2 1/2 on the front end and a 2 on the hind end based on a scale of 1 to 9, with 1 being emaciation and 9 being obese, or greatly overweight.
The horse was placed on a strict diet and gradually gained weight from 782 pounds when it was taken into protective custody by the humane officer on July 9, 2019, to 945 pounds on Oct. 22, 2019.
“The back muscles were filling in and the mare had a good appetite. She was bright and alert,” the human officer wrote in the complaint of an examination on Aug. 22, 2019.
Deleur remains free on $25,000 unsecured bail. He is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 12.
SPCA Attorney Garry Taroli prosecuted.