08/05/2024
FROM THE DESK OF THE PROSECUTING ATTORNEY
A Doddridge County man stands convicted of animal cruelty after a guilty plea in Doddridge County Magistrate Court on the 30th of July, 2024.
Represented by Wesley Prince of Shaffer Madia Law, Travis Snuffer appeared for a pre-trial hearing scheduled before Magistrate Adams, and ultimately entered a plea of guilty.
Snuffer, 37, of West Union, West Virginia, was charged by West Union Police Chief, C.K. Garner, with Animal Cruelty, for leaving the K9, Judge, in a vehicle in the morning hours when temperatures were climbing, and ultimately between 85 and 90 degrees outside.
The State of West Virginia was represented by Doddridge County Prosecuting Attorney, L. Elizabeth “Betsy” Coffey. West Virginia code requires that animals seized as part of an animal cruelty case be forfeited. Snuffer provided for the care and custody of the animals with an appropriate and agreed upon placement, and the animals will remain with those custodians. The State had a veterinarian examine Judge, who appears from extensive testing to have suffered no lasting neurological or other systemic damage as a result of the incident.
The State has agreed to recommend 90 days in jail, but will recommend it be suspended in favor of probation and a fine if his psychological evaluation comes back favorably. In addition to the statutory requirements of forfeiture of the animals, a conviction for misdemeanor animal cruelty prohibits ownership and/or possession of any animal for a period of five years following that conviction. Snuffer remains on bond pending his sentencing hearing scheduled for October 16, 2024.
