PARK RAPIDS, Minn. -- A Park Rapids woman has entered guilty pleas to two felony counts of letting two horses starve to death in Hubbard County last spring.
Minden Ann Crenshaw, 28, pleaded guilty to mistreating or abusing animals. The emaciated horses were found tied to a tree April 19. They were deceased and obviously the victims of neglect. Their ribs were protruding beneath their skin. One horse had broken free of its tether but dropped in place and died.
"No food or water was present," the complaint stated.
In a plea agreement, Hubbard County Attorney Don Dearstyne agreed to dismiss a gross misdemeanor count of abusing animals.
Dearstyne said the felonies are "unranked offenses" by the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission, declining to comment further.
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That means there are no suggestions on sentencing recommendations. Attorneys were given until Sept. 19 to suggest the severity level of the crimes, which will go toward sentencing. Each side will file a brief.
The court will then rule on the severity level and set a sentencing date.
A veterinarian retained by the county determined the horses starved to death. The crimes raised outrage in Hubbard County, and many residents expressed dismay that they could have helped feed them if they'd known.
Crenshaw told authorities she had obtained the horses in January or February and took care of them until she moved out of her mother's home nearby on April 1. They were discovered three weeks later tied to a tree near Electron Drive, spotted by a neighbor, who was walking through the wooded section of land.
Each charge is punishable by a maximum of two years in prison and/or a $5,000 fine.
