San Diego
Embattled kennel owner Ruby Mae Brown on Friday was found mentally competent to stand trial on 210 counts of animal abuse and neglect.
Brown lost her bid to be free on her own recognizance.
San Diego Superior Court Judge Herbert Exarhos allowed bail to remain set at $20,000. Brown has been in jail since she was arrested after failing to appear for trial several weeks ago.
Court-appointed psychiatrists interviewed Brown, 61, on Thursday and found she is mentally competent, said Deputy City Atty. Janet Schwabe.
Exarhos remanded Brown to Municipal Judge Robert Coates, who will preside over the trial when it begins Tuesday.
Brown, who is acting as her own attorney, has made public death threats against officials who are trying to revoke her kennel license because of allegedly filthy conditions at the Morena Boulevard facility, which is called Kelly’s Pet Hotel. Because of the threats, Schwabe urged that bail remain unchanged after Brown failed to appear in court.
Brown said publicly that she owned an assault rifle, but she was forced to turn it in last month in exchange for her freedom.
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