Press Release from The Cloud Foundation
International Outcry Spurred by Wild Horse Shootings
Reno, NV (June 16, 2010)—The Cloud Foundation has learned that Todd Davis and Joshua Keathley have changed their pleas this morning from not guilty to guilty, waiving their planned trial in the case of shooting five free-roaming horses in northwestern Nevada (about 40 miles southeast of Cedarville, California). The pleas were made in Federal Court in Reno before US Magistrate Judge Robert McQuaid.
“We feel justice has been served at this point,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Sue Fahami told The Associated Press. She added that she and U.S. Attorney Dan Bogden combined received a total of approximately 24,000 e-mails and letters from around the world.
When asked to describe the morning the shootings took place, Keathley explained: “we was out early in North Washoe and seen them wild horses and killed a few of them and then we left.” Davis gave a similar account of the events, adding that the two had been drinking and looking for a place to set traps when they spotted a band of eight to ten mustangs. Keathley and Davis are represented by Tom Plimpton (retained) and John Springgate (CJA) respectively.
“We used poor judgment and shot a few of them.” Davis said.
Davis and Keathley will remain free on bail, while their firearms remain in the custody of a county sheriff until sentencing Sept. 14, 2010 at 2 pm.
“Davis and Keathley admitted using public lands as their private shooting gallery, and to gathering their spent shells,” said Terri Farley, author of the Phantom Stallion series of books, and a wild horse advocate, “They knew it was illegal to kill America’s wild horses on public lands, but they didn’t care.”
The maximum sentence for maliciously causing the death and abetting the death and harassment of five wild horses is one year in county jail and a fine of $100,000. There is no possibility of parole.
“We commend Nevada State law enforcement and BLM law enforcement for apprehending these wild horse killers and we applaud the apparent willingness of prosecute to ask for the maximum penalties provided for under the law,” stated Cloud Foundation Director Ginger Kathrens. “The public loves their wild horses. It is an understatement to say we are outraged at this horrible act.”
Fahimi gave a fuller description of the November events, indicated that the two stopped driving when they saw the backs of horses. Keathley, shot first. “A light-colored horse went down,” Fahimi said, and then Keathley handed the AR-15 rifle to Davis. “Davis began shooting at the others”
Five horses lay dying while Keathley picked up 8-10 spent ammunition casings.
Links of interest:
AP 6/16/10: “Two Nevada men plead guilty to killing wild mustangs” http://bit.ly/cvlCQZ
Accused to stand trial for wild horse shootings in Nevada, 4/21/10 press release http://bit.ly/cn3Hmd
Disappointment Valley… A Modern Day Western Trailer- excellent sample of interviews regarding the issues http://bit.ly/awFbwm
Fact Sheet on Wild Herds & The Salazar Plan http://bit.ly/bfdX1y
CNN Report, Issues with Jane Valez-Mitchell, March 25th http://bit.ly/dvl7NE
Wild Horse and Burro Act http://bit.ly/a7hOeS
SFTHH: A Solution to America’s Wild Horse Crisis? June 2010 http://wp.me/pyapj-116
Wild Horses: Management or Stampede to Extinction? Reno Gazette Special http://bit.ly/stampede2ext
Rolling Stone: The Spill, The Scandal and the President. June 2010 http://bit.ly/d3Bjcm
Ken Salazar’s “candy shop”: Denver Post Guest Commentary, June 2010 http://bit.ly/aNbLz9
‘Herd-Watch: Public Eyes for Public Horses’ http://bit.ly/9Wvh58
Roundup Schedule- updated May 2010 http://bit.ly/a0xcq7
Informative Blog: American Herds http://americanherds.blogspot.com/
Photos, video and interviews available from:
The Cloud Foundation ~ makendra@thecloudfoundation.org
The Cloud Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit dedicated to the preservation and protection of wild horses and burros on our Western public lands with a focus on protecting Cloud’s herd in the Pryor Mountains of Montana.
107 S. 7th St. – Colorado Springs, CO 80905 – 719-633-3842 www.thecloudfoundation.org
Categories: Horse News, Wild Horses/Mustangs
Straight from the Horse's Heart 
Yeah, BUT….let’s see what those cretins really wind up with when it comes to the actual sentence. How’d you’d like to be one of those trolls “loved” one? Yuck! I need to go take a shower after thinking about that.
And sadly, with the documentation provided by our beloved, on the ground wild equine advocates when is anyone going to file charges against DOI/BLM, the Catoor thugs and trolls murdering our wild ones from Calico, Sheldon, and on and on and on……
So basically, if you are not working for the State or the Feds and kill a wild horse or burro…you’re in deep doo-doo (maybe); if you work for the sanctioned wild horse and burro butchers…you not only get a free pass on abuse and death, you get paid for it.
I wonder sometime if the reckless and wonton disrespect of our wild ones that the state and federal agencies have perpetually displayed over the decades isn’t really a wink and a nod to private persons to help yourself and have some “fun” at the expense of the mustangs and burros. After all, authorities treat ’em like sh*t, why can’t we?
Doesn’t seem like justice to me.
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I doubt if Judge Robert McQuaid Jr. realizes what a bad decision he has made by sentencing Keathly and Davis to a maximum of six months in jail. They should both have been doing at least a year for this act of cruelty. I have heard from several locals that they have been in the habit of using wild animals as target practise, mostly deer as far as I have heard. i have also heard (uthebstantiated) that the horses that they shot were not in a B.L.L.M. pasture as reported on the news a nd in the newspaper, but penned up, and no mention of the wounded horses that survived. Keathley has young son who thinks its quite alright to kill anything that moves, although he’s too young to have a gun. he will point an imagiary gun at anything he sees and say : Wow! Got him right in the eye with my first shot” To me this shows the negative impact that his father has had on him. The pair came directly to the local Bar to celebrate their victory, after sentencing.
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A year in jail AND a $100,000 fine? I don’t think this will happen unless the judge is ready to send a REALLY strong message, and most judges aren’t. They’ll probably get some sentence and fine, but not nearly enough.
I sure would like to get a response from the BLM on this, considering these creatins killed “their” wild horses, but I’m sure they wouldn’t want to weigh in because of their continuing assault on the wild ones.
Maybe when these felons get out of jail (if they even go to jail) Dave Cattor will offer them a job. “Birds of a feather” and all that.
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To be fair and balanced, I believe that BLM and state authorities did help gather the info that led to prosecution. Maybe someone knows more or better than I.
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The Federal lawyers insist there will be NO plea bargain. Atty. Sue Fahami strikes me as a stand-up woman. Word is she wants a conviction and since she couldn’t prove which shooter killed which horse, was only able to charge them with what she COULD prove — one horse each.
Fingers crossed that Davis & Keathley saw what the drubbing they were in for at trial and couldn’t face it. The family support I saw pre-court last time was missing yesterday.
The civilized part of my brain wants these two put to work repairing human damage to the range. I’d like to see them schooled by convicts who love the wild horses they work with in the Nevada prison program, too.
And the UNcivilized part of my brain? Won’t go there.
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I sure hope they’ll get what they so richly deserve. My comment was based on personal experience with how NM courts have handled felony domestic horse abuse resulting in death. I guess this is a whole different thing since the BLM is involved.
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When I read this yesterday I thought that by pleading guilty they were hoping to get a bit of sympathy from the judge. I hope that doesn’t happen, we need this to come in with a harsh sentence that helps say our wild horses are off limits to recreational sociopaths. I’ve been drunk once or twice and never found the need to shoot anything. I also read about the woman whose horse fell out of the trailer and she “didn’t notice” as she drug it for 2 1/2 miles. No charges to be filed on her though, “just an accident” My a**. Both of these incidents make me ill but the trailer more so as she just gets to walk away.
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My understanding of the law is that if a defendent(s) pleads guilty at some point in the proceeding (once it has gotten to the hard court date), pleadings and petitions have been filed/exhausted, defendant attorneys may recommend that their client(s) plead guilty as a show of somewhat limited acknowledgement/remorse to entreaty the judge to give due consideration that defendants recognize their causative actions have resulted in a “crime”(violations of law) and are posturing to lessen the severity of sentence because they are not going to expend the courts time and expense to continue a not guilty plea. Depending on the defendants records, it is a concillatory proactive tatic.
Just a guess, but the evidence and defendant records may have played a significant role in this change. It’s kind of like saying defendants are sorry and rehabilative worthy, please take our stance into consideration at sentencing. You know, that give ’em a second chance crap to be good eggs. Yeah, like that is going to happen with animal abusers!
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What sadness !! This whole thing makes the BLM appear to look “good”, although WE all know the TRUTH! Those two idiots deserve to rot in hell, as well as the horse-haters at the BLM. The only thing this incident did was make less wild horses to be rounded up & sentenced to life in prison by the BLM. I know an eye for an eye doesn’t really “solve” anything, & that violence begets violence, but, if I didn’t have a family to take care of, I’d be out there with “guns smokin”, & I’d give those BLM people & their hired hands a free, one-way ticket to hell!! I am absolutely SICK of all this crap, &, NOTHING really being DONE to HELP & SAVE OUR wild horses & burros….NOTHING but “talk”, the horses still suffer, cattlemen & government are getter richer, idiots now think it’s “fun” to shoot & kill OUR wild horses, it goes on & on, until the horses become only a memory, & the ground is stained red with their blood!! Thank you for letting me “vent”.
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AND HERE WE ARE IN 2015 AND ITS EVEN WORSE. ALTHOUGH WE TOOK THEM TO COURT AND FED JUDGE SAID BLM IS BREAKING THE LAW IT CONTINUES UNENFORCED TO MURDER ILLEGALLY ALL HORSES TO GENOCIDE KEEP EMAILING AND CALLING CONGRESS EVERYDAY WE HAVE TO STOP IT.
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