Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, December 21, 1993 TAG: 9312210159
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KAREN BARNES STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BEDFORD LENGTH: Medium
Ann Wallenborn, 43, of the Chamblissburg area acted as her own attorney at a recent hearing where she faced charges of failure to provide adequate care for animals and illegal accumulation of trash.
Wallenborn failed to cross-examine witnesses and defend herself against the witnesses' charges. After exhibiting what Bedford County General District Court Judge James Farmer considered signs of disorientation and paranoia, Farmer ordered a psychiatric evaluation to determine if she is competent to stand trial.
Reached by telephone at Lewis-Gale Psychiatric Center on Monday, Wallenborn said she is having trouble retaining an attorney. The attorneys are persuaded to dump the case after talking with Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Joe Kuster, she said.
Kuster said that because she failed to file an appeal, the two pending criminal charges against her could be dropped, depending on the results of the psychiatric evaluation. He said he expects a report within the next two weeks. If she is found competent, she will probably be tried, he said.
Each charge is a misdemeanor, with a possible $250 fine.
An estimated 15 of her dogs had to be euthanized recently because of chronic health problems, including mange and flea and tick infestation, said Tammy Javier, director of the Roanoke Valley Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Some of the animals are being kept at the Bedford County Animal Shelter.
About 20 dogs are available for adoption, Javier said. To adopt a dog, an interested person must fill out an application, have it approved, pay a $50 adoption fee and sign an agreement to have the animal spayed or neutered.
A few people have expressed interest in adopting dogs, she said, but not as many as she was hoping.
The animals were seized after local and state officials inspected Wallenborn's 27-acre farm and found dogs kept in overcrowded pens piled a foot deep with feces and wood chips.
by CNB