A D V E R T I S E M E N T
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
ADVERTISEMENTS
<< Prev. Page 1 | 2
Sakewitz’s criminal history dates back to 2006, when police found 158 live rabbits in her home at 1841 N.W. 23rd Court in Hillsboro, plus the bodies of nearly 100 more in three refrigerator freezers. Some had starved, some were dehydrated and many had other health problems from being crammed inside their cages, officials said.
Hillsboro city law forbids people from keeping more than four rabbits within city limits.
The rabbits were seized as evidence against Sakewitz and held in a pen at an undisclosed location in Hillsboro, according to news reports. In January 2007, officials discovered a chain-link fence cut, a steel door pried open and 130 rabbits missing from the pen, according to reports.
At the end of a weeklong investigation, police found Sakewitz in Chehalis, Wash., with nine live rabbits, one dead rabbit and a goldfish in a fish bowl in her car, according to reports. They found other missing rabbits at a nearby horse farm, where they had been stored after they disappeared from the Hillsboro pen.
In April 2007, Sakewitz was convicted of five counts of first-degree animal neglect and 10 counts of second-degree neglect, as well as second-degree criminal mischief and tampering with evidence, Severe said.
After the conviction, Sakewitz was prohibited from owning a domestic animal for five years.
Three months later, a neighbor noticed a black rabbit in her window and Sakewitz spent three days in jail for violating her probation. A judge added a stipulation to her probation prohibiting her from coming within 100 yards of a rabbit.
Sakewitz is awaiting a probation violation hearing. She was released Wednesday because of crowding in the Washington County Jail.
Washington County Animal Services has transferred the 13 rabbits to the Oregon Humane Society. They will be up for adoption soon.
“This is not something we see very often,” Severe said. “It’s a unique situation for us.”
<< Prev. Page 1 | 2
Find a paper
Enter a street name
or a 5 digit zip code
Browse archive
The Times
News feed
Facebook
Digg
Del.icio.us
Newsvine
Stumbleupon
Reddit
Re: New twist in rabbit tale
Seriously. Her PO is surprised? She is an animal hoarder. That is what they do. It is a mental issue. They "have" to care for those animals, and rabbits are easier to get than drugs, because you can get rabbits for free. He was surprised? I cannot believe he is that naive. Serial animal hoarders will always get caught again at some point. He was lucky she lasted two years.....
"RobP in Oregon City"
(email verified)
Wed, Jun 17, 2009 at 09:08 PM