SIMI VALLEY : Man Pleads Guilty to Animal Cruelty

A Simi Valley resident has pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of willful animal cruelty for neglecting his horse, which was found starving in a boarding stable.

Jeffrey C. Apperson of Simi Valley pleaded guilty to neglecting the animal after being sued by the Humane Society of Ventura County, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Edward F. Brodie. Apperson was ordered to provide 120 hours of community service, pay a $250 fine, and was placed on 12 months probation.

The Humane Society impounded the horse Jan. 30 after it was discovered in a small boarding stable eating wood because it had no food. The horse was more than 200 pounds underweight.

The horse is now in good health. “In the four months’ time he put on his full weight,” said Jolene Hoffman, a spokeswoman for the Humane Society. “He looks beautiful.”