UPDATE @ 7:44 p.m.: Charges filed against a Xenia Twp. man accusing him of improperly disposing of animals on his farm could be dropped if he has the carcasses removed and cleans up his property, Xenia City Prosecutor Ron Lewis said.
A court date for Shawn King is scheduled for March 31, according to the prosecutor’s office.
King has said he has put down sick and injured animals as a service to others. The carcasses include a calf, three dogs, a pig, a goat and chickens.
FIRST REPORT
A Xenia Twp. man is claiming religious beliefs in his defense against charges that he improperly disposed of animals on his property.
A Greene County deputy filed a misdemeanor charge today in Xenia Municipal Court against 41-year-old Shawn King.
The complaint alleges the carcasses of 47 animals were found in various states of decay on King’s Foust Road property.
The carcasses were of cats, dogs, chickens and pigs.
The charge comes after one of King’s goats got loose over the weekend. A responding deputy checked out the property and found the dead animals.
King told WHIO’s Lauren Clark he is a Cherokee Indian and that he believes in letting animals be exposed to the elements and nature after death.
He said he has put down animals as a service for people who bring them to his farm.
King is scheduled for an arraignment next month.