Westport farm tenants in court

By: News Staff

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WESTPORT, Mass. (WLNE) — Nearly one year after the raid of a Westport farm that left hundreds of dead, sickly, and abused animals, those responsible will now face a judge.

27 defendants are now being charged with animal cruelty for allowing their animals to live in squalor at a farm off American Legion Highway.

The ASPCA called the conditions on that farm the worst case of animal abuse they have ever seen in the Northeast and now after months of investigation, 27 defendants will face a judge in the next week.

The first 4 tenants to face the judge, all plead not guilty on Tuesday.

One of those tenants, Luis Pacheco, gave no comment after being arraigned on 3 counts of animal cruelty but his lawyer says prosecutors are painting things with too broad a brush. He claims his client shouldn’t be lumped in with everyone else and that his animals were never abused or neglected.

"This isn’t a singular farm. These are multiple tracks, fenced in. Some of the animals, I’m told, are hundreds and hundreds of feet off the roadways. So it’s not like you just look over a fence and see them. So we’re very interested what the search warrants suggest as far as probable cause to even enter on this private land," said Kenneth Ferdette, Pacheco’s lawyer.

A group of Westport residents were also in court concerned that abuse could be happening on other local farms, calling for widespread changes in town.

"What we are looking for in the town right now is some sort of registry of where farm animals are kept so that the inspectors know where they need to go," said Kathy Feininger with Stop the Insanity Westport.

All of defendants were indicted back in March for allowing their animals to live in deplorable conditions at the property off American Legion Highway.

The investigation began back in July of last year when a resident reported two starved dogs on the farm’s property.

Investigators would come to find over 1,400 animals dead, sick, or dying on the 70-acre property.

The owner, Richard Medeiros, says he is not responsible for his tenant’s actions since he leases out his farm space.

However, Medeiros faced similar accusations in 2010, but the state dismissed the case saying they had no evidence of abuse.

These arraignments are slated to take place over several days. The farm owner is expected in Bristol Superior Court Wednesday.

©WLNE-TV / ABC6 2017