Teens face felony charges in shooting of Chester County horse

Three teens in custody in connection with the Saturday shooting of a horse outside a Chester home are being charged as juveniles, but each faces a felony count, a spokesman for the Chester County Sheriff’s Office said Friday.

The three male suspects, all 16, are in the custody of the state Department of Juvenile Justice in Columbia, Chief Deputy Robert Sprouse said. They will be charged with malicious injury to property.

The 13-year-old mare named Grey was shot Saturday outside a home on Pressley Road, authorities have said. The horse’s owner went outside after hearing a loud bang and saw Grey lying on her side, a bullet wound in her left shoulder.

Maureen Moore, Grey’s owner, had been keeping the horse at her mother’s home. Moore’s niece, Kristy Sutton, was especially attached to the horse, as was Sutton’s son.

“We’re still kind of speechless,” Sutton said. “We’re glad it’s finally come to an end, that they can’t do it to anyone else.”

The teens used a rifle to shoot the horse before driving away, Sprouse said. He could not comment on the motive or how the teens obtained the gun.

The bullet shattered the horse’s shoulder and struck her spine, family members have said. A veterinarian came to treat Grey, but the horse had to be euthanized.

Under state law, malicious injury to property can be prosecuted as a misdemeanor or a felony, depending on the value of the property lost. The horse was valued at more than $2,000, Sprouse said, meaning the teens will each face a felony count of the charge.

The punishment for a felony conviction depends on the value of the animal or property lost. If it is worth more than $2,000 but less than $10,000, the maximum is five years. If the value is more than $10,000, the defendant faces up to 10 years in prison. All convictions carry a possible fine.

Sprouse said the malicious injury charge is more serious than ill treatment of animals, which could also be a misdemeanor or a felony. A felony conviction for that carries a maximum of five years in prison, a fine or both.

In South Carolina, an offender who is tried as a juvenile can only be incarcerated until their 21st birthday, DJJ spokesman Eric Rousey said. An offender who is tried as an adult can receive a longer sentence.

“So, in a more serious case, where someone under 17 is tried as an adult in South Carolina, they can serve beyond their 21st birthday,” Rousey said. “In either case, a juvenile will normally be incarcerated at DJJ until they turn 17, at which time they will be transferred to the Department of Corrections.”

Sprouse said investigators do not anticipate additional arrests.

This story was originally published July 24, 2015 at 10:25 AM with the headline "Teens face felony charges in shooting of Chester County horse."