Judge rejects ARD for woman charged with 48 counts of animal cruelty
A Washington County judge nixed an agreement that would have allowed a Chartiers Township resident charged with 48 counts of animal cruelty to be admitted to a program for first-time offenders.
Marci Jo Klinzing, 49, came Wednesday to the courtroom of Judge Valarie Costanzo, who heard testimony about the deplorable condition of dogs, cats, rabbits and fowl at her home.
Assistant District Attorney John Friedmann said he offered the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program to Klinzing because it would allow her to seek help for “some underlying condition that is not being treated appropriately.”
He also said, “The living conditions are abhorent not only for animals but for humans.”
The judge rejected the ARD option and recessed the proceeding to give Friedmann and Assistant Public Defender Michael Mihalov time for further discussion.
According to Pennsylvania law, an ARD probationary program can be offered to a defendant when a “crime charged is relatively minor and does not involve a serious breach of the public trust.”
An animal cruelty count corresponded to each of the 48 animals and birds seized in June 2017.
Upon their return to the courtroom, the matter was postponed pending Klinzing’s outcome in Washington County Mental Health Court.
Klinzing was also charged with summary animal cruelty in 2013. And in a 2016 case, misdemeanors were reduced to a single summary offense to which she entered a no-contest plea. Last December, Judge Michael Lucas ordered she was not to keep any animals for two years.
Last month, however, Washington Area Humane Society removed animals from the home on Crossroads Road. Charges have not been filed in connection with the latest incident.