Woman pleads guilty to animal cruelty for neglecting horses on Key Peninsula property

TACOMA – A 39-year-old woman who pleaded guilty to animal cruelty charges for neglecting prize horses on a Key Peninsula property will not be allowed to keep or live with animals for two years and must pass a online test. class.

Kassandra Llyn Hand pleaded guilty Thursday in Pierce County Superior Court to three counts of second-degree animal cruelty, a serious misdemeanor. On the recommendation of prosecutors, Judge Philip Thornton gave Hand a one-year suspended prison sentence.

Hand served 21 days in the Pierce County Jail after being arrested on a warrant in July. The sentence she received Thursday is suspended for two years, meaning if she violates the law or other provisions of her sentence, she could be required to serve the remainder of her sentence in prison. This includes the requirement to complete a unique course on the prevention of cruelty to animals.

“The state takes cases of animal cruelty very seriously,” Assistant Prosecutor Stephanie Roberts said in court. “The main concern here was that Ms. Hand would not be caring for the animals for at least a while.”

The case involved five Tennessee Walker horses, two dogs and four puppies at a property on 158th Avenue Southwest in Lakebay. Criminal charges were filed against Hand after years of complaints from neighbors, visits from animal control and the euthanasia of a white horse named Flash, who weighed at least 228 pounds when he was seized in July of last year, according to charging documents.

The horses once belonged to Hand’s father. A relative previously told Gateway that the family had a long history of entering them in competitions and that the horses had won several awards. After Hand’s father died in 2020, she took care of the animals, according to court records.

Roberts said one of the horses did not receive the medical care it needed, making it difficult to feed the animal. She said two dogs were also “terribly” malnourished. The lawyer said the photos of them were difficult to look at.

“It was negligence and she was aware of the situation. And so these issues were not addressed, and the animals suffered as a result,” Roberts said.

Hand previously told Gateway that she was told the animals were property of her father’s estate and that she could not move them. She said she tried her best, but was “stopped” when she tried to get help for them.

An Animal Control report that documented the complaints showed that concerns began in May 2013, when someone called to report that the horses were starting to appear thin and appeared to have not been seen recently by a veterinarian. Animal control officers followed up and confirmed that a veterinarian examined the horses a few months later and the animals appeared to have gained weight.

Complaints from neighbors persisted into 2022, with reports alleging that several horses on the property appeared very thin. Animal Control visited the property in April 2022. Hand reportedly told officers she had fallen on hard times and was having difficulty providing food for the animals.

Officers returned several times between May 2022 and February 2023 to try to speak with Hand and see the horses, according to the case report, but each time no one was home and the horses had not been seen since the street.

On July 14, 2023, Animal Control returned and Hand was there to show the officers the horses. Four appeared to have gained weight, an officer reported, but Flash was still in bad shape. Hand was told that if she did not seek veterinary care immediately, Flash would be seized. According to the case report, Hand said she did not have money to pay for a vet visit.

Later that month, Animal Control returned with a search warrant. Flash was seized with a dog and a litter of puppies, who reportedly had no access to food or water and were in an enclosure with excess feces and urine. Flash, 35, was euthanized a few weeks later and the dogs were adopted.

Sheriff’s Department deputies removed Hand from the property on March 14, 2024, the day after the charges were filed. The expulsion follows legal proceedings linked to his father’s estate. The four horses remaining on the property were taken by Animal Control that day and brought to a rescue center.

At sentencing Thursday, Hand’s Department of Assigned Counsel attorney, Shelby Winters, said her client loved animals and felt stuck without good options. The lawyer said Hand’s brother was the executor of their father’s will and that Hand had tried to ask the estate for money to care for the animals, but was refused.

Winters said Hand was also misled about what would happen if she called Animal Control for help.

“MS. Hand was falsely led to believe by the estate that her attempt to call Animal Control with any concerns regarding the estate’s failures to allow her to help care for these animals would result in some sort of theft or prosecution legal proceedings on his behalf,” Winters said.

Winters said Hand regretted the situation and didn’t want this to happen to any animals in the future.

Reached by phone Thursday, Hand’s brother, Christopher Hand, disputed the lawyer’s account. He said he and his wife contacted his sister several times about rehoming the animals, and were met with “vicious hostility.”

“She never asked for a single cent of the estate’s money,” Christopher Hand said. “She submitted a false will, claiming everything was hers in order to take everything. Several nonprofits attempted to provide food for the animals, and she refused the food, saying she only wanted money.

The brother said he hoped his sister learned something from the legal process and could learn from it.

A spokesman for Pierce County Prosecutor Adam Faber’s office said Thursday that the four horses seized were all healthy and doing well.

Before Judge Thornton imposed sentence on Kassandra Hand on Thursday, he asked her if she wanted to tell him anything. She did not make a statement. After the hearing adjourned, she left the courtroom. She declined to say anything to the News Tribune.