Local News in Brief : Woman Gets Jail for Animal Neglect
A Hawthorne woman was sentenced Tuesday to 45 days in jail for keeping a yard full of malnourished and lice-infested animals that authorities suspect were to be used in religious sacrifices.
Municipal Court Judge John Lynch allowed Catalina Sierra, 55, to delay serving her jail term pending the outcome of her appeal.
The judge also sentenced Sierra to three years’ probation and allowed her to remain free without having to post bail.
Sierra pleaded no contest last month to one misdemeanor count of animal neglect, Hawthorne Assistant City Atty. Ronald Pohl said.
Authorities said the woman kept numerous malnourished and lice-infested animals, including 22 chickens, two goats, a piglet, a lamb, two cockateels and a parrot, in the back yard of her home.
The animals’ pens contained no food or water, or had water contaminated with feces and algae. The yard, meanwhile, contained feathers, goatskins, blood and other evidence of animal slaughter, authorities said.
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