BENTON, La. (BRPROUD) — A tip led to the arrest of a woman from Benton on cruelty to animals charges.
52-year-old Sandra Blackmon Driscoll is facing 16 counts of Aggravated Animal Cruelty.
On the morning of Tuesday, September 21, detectives with the Bossier Sheriff’s Office were called to the 500 block of Rubicon Rd.
Detectives arrived at a horse training center and found 16 horses in bad shape.
Benton Intermediate School is located in front of the horse training center.
According to the Bossier Parish Sheriff’s Office, “detectives say they found three dead horses inside a dump trailer on the property.”
13 other horses were located on the property by detectives.
According to the Bossier Parish Sheriff’s Office., “Investigators say the horses were extremely malnourished and in such dire conditions some were barely able to walk.”
Detectives searched the main barn on the property and determined that a horse should not be living there.
The conditions of the main barn were called “deplorable” by detectives and along with that, “the stalls were uninhabitable, there was very little water available and it appears there were other signs that they have not been fed for quite some time,” according to the Bossier Parish Sheriff’s Office.
A further search of the property by detectives uncovered these animals:
- Eight horses were found in the stalls
- Two horses and three ponies were found outside the main barn
The 13 horses were taken away from the horse training center and relocated to the property of a local horse owner.
Driscoll is currently in the Bossier Maximum Security Facility and her bond has been set at $100,000.
The Bossier Parish Sheriff’s Office asks that if you see signs of animal abuse, please call the Criminal Division of the Bossier Sheriff’s Office at (318) 965-3418 or (318) 965-2203 with information.