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BREAKING NEWS | |
PLEA DEAL IN GOLD BAR-SNOHOMISH PUPPY MILL CASE
December 01, 2010
 Jason (foreground) and Serena Larsen (middle, in blue jacket) at a May 2009 court appearance. CLICK TO ENLARGE
On Tuesday Marjorie and Richard Sundberg, accused of running the puppy mill, entered an Alford plea to four counts of animal cruelty, two in the first-degree and two in the second-degree.
In an Alford plea a defendant acknowledges he or she would likely be found guilty at trial, but does not admit guilt in a crime.
As part of the deal with prosecutors the Sundbergs will perform community service and pay restitution to law enforcement and animal care agencies and will be prohibited form owning any animals in the future.
The Sundbergs were charged after over 400 dogs in various stages of neglect were found living in what prosecutors maintained were abusive conditions at the Sundbergs' Mount Vernon kennel in January of last year.
The case against the Sundbergs originated from a raid on a house near Gold Bar on January 16, 2008.
On January 25 of this year a Gold Bar area man and wife who had already pleaded guilty to six counts each of felony animal cruelty filed in the puppy mill case were sentenced for their actions relating to abusing dogs.
A Superior Court judge in Everett sentenced both Jason Dean Larsen and Serenna Lynn Larsen to one year in jail, although the judge ruled that Serenna Larsen could serve her year in work release.
Both had pleaded guilty in November to avoid a trial.
The charges against the pair, who were initially turned into police by an old friend of Jason Larsen, stemmed from a well-publicized raid by police and animal control officers on January 16th at a home just outside the city limits of Gold Bar.
At the home authorities rescued some 160 dogs from what were described as deplorable, abusive conditions.
The stench of feces and urine from within the house could be smelled by cars driving past the home on the road in front of the house.
Dogs were tightly packed into cases and cages and often were left to sit and sleep in their own feces and urine. Dead dogs were even found in the freezer in the house.
Many of the dogs required immediate medical care as they were in life threatening situations from abuse that included dehydration and lack of ongoing medical care and proper grooming.
Prosecutors believe the Larsens were low level functionaries of a multimillion-dollar puppy mill operation that sold “designer” dogs out of a home in Snohomish, that in turn was connected to a web site business and a breeder farm in Skagit County that the Sundbergs ran.
From that raid in January, investigators developed other information that led to another 450 dogs being seized from the Sundbergs’ Mount Vernon area kennel.
Marjorie Sundberg, said prosecutors, is the mother of two women, Renee Roske and Mary Ann Holleman, both of whom had their Snohomish, Washington homes searched as part of the investigation that began at that house near Gold Bar.
A kennel that operated in the city of Snohomish called “Wags ‘n’ Wiggles” that was operated by Renee Roske was investigated by the Snohomish County Sheriff’s office although no charges have been filed against Roske. Snohomish County revoked at one time Roske's kennel license.
Jason Larsen claimed the dogs he was housing and feeding in the Gold Bar area home belonged to Roske.
Authorities say one of the dogs rescued from the house had a microchip implanted in it identifying Roske as the owner. Roske denied owning the dogs.
Property records indicated that Roske’s sister, Mary Ann Holleman, owned the Gold Bar home where the Larsen’s maintained the 160 dogs at the time of the raid on the house.
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