A veteran police officer who boarded his horse at a farm where 16 animals were found starving last month resigned as his police chief was preparing to launch an internal investigation into his possible knowledge of problems at the farm.
Officer Mark Owen, 44, resigned Friday from two local departments where he worked part-time, citing personal reasons.
When reached by telephone Tuesday night, Owen said he decided to retire mainly because of allegations circulating in the community that he ignored what was happening at the horse farm operated by Melissa Giambrone, who was arrested Nov. 27 by Trumbull County Sheriff's Deputy Harold Firster on charges of cruelty to animals and cruelty to companion animals. She has pleaded innocent and is due back in Newton Falls Municipal Court Jan. 12.
Owen said he bought a horse at a Bloomfield auction in July for $5 because his son wanted a horse. He said the animal had a broken foot that healed improperly and Giambrone offered to board it at her farm, assuring him she would have the horse put down if its foot continued to give it problems.
"When I first met her, you could have eaten off the barn floor it was so clean. I had no idea there were 16 horses there. I don't know where she kept them all," Owen said.
He said officers had responded numerous times to horses escaping the fenced in pasture, and each time the horses would be rounded up and put back inside the fence. Owen said Giambrone kept telling him she was going to have his horse put down because of its broken leg, but she never did.
"She had friends out here that would have helped her take care of the horses if she had asked. None of us knew," Owen said.
Braceville police Chief William Garro said he was planning to launch an internal investigation into whether Owen's conduct in relation to the removal of 16 horses from 5796 state Route 82 violated departmental policy.
Owen had worked part-time for the township for at least 10 years. He also resigned Friday from his part-time position with the Vienna Police Department, according to Trustee Jeff Dreves. He said Owen worked mostly midnight shift for the past four or five years.
Dreves said Owen resigned after a discussion with Chief David Ovesny, who declined to comment on the reason for Owen's resignation.
According to Firster's report, there was no food for the animals and they all appeared malnourished. He said several of the horses had eaten the tails of others and also had been chewing on the stalls.
Firster responded to the property after neighbors reported four horses were loose. The report states it was the fifth time the sheriff's office responded to the property in two weeks because of the horses breaking out of the stable.
Firster said Owen, who was off duty at the time, showed up and said he had a horse at Giambrone's farm.
Garro said he does not believe Owen did anything criminal, but he was planning an internal probe into whether Owen violated department policy in relation to the Giambrone case.
''Mark resigned before the investigation began," Garro said.
The man who owns the seven-acre property, Robert Norris of Palmyra Township in Portage County, said he bought it in July 2006 for $66,650 at a sheriff's sale and spent approximately $43,000 renovating the inside of the home. He said he planned to sell it but was having trouble finding a buyer and he agreed to rent it to Giambrone two years ago because she seemed nice and her family owned several companies in Aurora, including Giambrone Construction.
"When she moved in, she had three horses, one dog and one wolf. She accumulated a zoo while she lived there," Norris said.
He said the inside of the house is filthy and there is dog feces all over the floor. He said he is trying to evict Giambrone and has a hearing for the eviction Jan. 13 in Newton Falls Municipal Court.
Norris said Giambrone told him last summer that she was applying for nonprofit status to operate Melissa's Animal Rescue. A flier for the business lists the Route 82 address and asks for donations for the organization.
A phone number listed on the flier has been disconnected and a number provided by Norris also was disconnected. A message left Tuesday at Giambrone Construction was not returned.
Firster said the investigation is ongoing and more charges against Giambrone may be filed later.
Four of the horses removed from Giambrone's property remain at Happy Trails Farm Animal Sanctuary in Ravenna. The rest are either in foster care or were picked up by their owners.
Owen said his was the only horse to be euthanized.
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