Animal cruelty suspect pleads guilty

A 61-year-old Millsboro man facing 171 charges after authorities last year found dead and emaciated dogs on his property pleaded guilty to 10 of those charges Nov. 24.

Atwood Timmons pleaded guilty to misdemeanor animal cruelty charges Aug. 25. Superior Court Judge Richard F. Stokes sentenced him to one year of home confinement, followed by one year of probation.

“Hopefully this is a fair way to resolve this case,” Timmons' attorney, Edward Gill, said before the hearing began.

Timmons also agreed to own no animals for the rest of his life. The original recommendation for sentencing was to prohibit him from owning animals for 15 years.

Timmons also was ordered to pay $1,217 in restitution to his neighbor, Patricia Gibson, and an undetermined amount to Brandywine Valley SPCA. The state has 60 days to set the amount of restitution for Brandywine Valley, the Pennsylvania-based organization tasked with sheltering and caring for animals seized by the state Office of Animal Welfare’s Delaware Animal Services.

On Nov. 23, 2016, Delaware Animal Services officers executed a warrant at a wooded property on Deep Branch Road near Georgetown, north of Millsboro, where they found four dead dogs and more than a dozen emaciated dogs.

It took officers two days to capture the 14 surviving animals, which were reported to be covered in fleas, parasites and wounds, and weak from a lack of food and water.

Court records described the dogs as mixed breeds, including mixes of Rottweiler and Labrador. Three dogs were found dead inside a shed, and the fourth was found dead on the ground near a house on the property. Officials stated there was no evidence of food or water anywhere on the property.

“This is one of the worst neglect cases we have seen,” Delaware Animal Services Chief Mark Tobin said at the time.

Timmons initially pleaded not guilty to all the charges and was released on $42,500 unsecured bail.

No representatives from the Office of Animal Welfare attended the hearing, although an agency spokeswoman said two Delaware Animal Services officers were at Sussex Superior Court Aug. 24 to attend private discussions regarding the plea deal. Timmons was originally scheduled to appear for a suppression hearing, in which his attorney would have argued to suppress certain evidence in the case. Instead, the state agreed to accept Timmons' guilty plea on 10 counts of animal cruelty.

“It's important for animals in Delaware to be afforded protection from cruelty under the law," Tobin said in an emailed statement.

During the nearly hour-long hearing, Gill explained his client, who he said has no criminal record and is a Navy veteran, was struggling with substance abuse at the time of the seizure.

He said Gill started drinking “horribly, excessively” following the death of his parents in 2015 and 2016. Timmons' mother died in July 2016, just one month before Delaware Animal Services began investigating possible neglect at the Deep Branch Road property based on tips from neighbors.

“It's terrible these criminal charges had to be the wake-up call,” Gill said.

Timmons told Stokes that he began therapy in January 2017. In April, he went to a rehab in Florida for 45 days before he became ill and spent 23 days in the hospital. Upon his return to Delaware, he continued treatment by seeing a therapist and alcohol counselor.

Stokes also sentenced Timmons to a substance abuse evaluation and treatment, wearing a monitor to measure his blood-alcohol level, alcohol treatment, counseling and participation in mental health court.

Stokes warned that if Timmons violates his probation, he could face up to 10 years in jail.

Timmons declined comment after the hearing.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated.