Zebra owner acquitted of animal cruelty charges in Prince George's County court
Owner of escaped zebras found not guilty of animal cruelty in Prince George's County
The man who owned zebras and kept them at his Prince George's County farm was found not guilty on three counts of animal cruelty and neglect in a Hyattsville courtroom Wednesday. FOX 5's David Kaplan breaks down the case.
PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, Md. - The man who owned zebras and kept them at his Prince George's County farm was found not guilty on three counts of animal cruelty and neglect in a Hyattsville courtroom Wednesday.
Jerry Lee Holly was charged with animal abuse and neglect after three of those zebras escaped in the fall of 2021.
After a few hours of arguments and before the defense even put on its case, the judge ruled Holly not guilty.
The defense and prosecution agreed on the central facts of this case:
Three zebras got out of their enclosure, one of them died in a trap that was off Jerry Lee Holly’s property, and when all the zebras were inspected, they were found to be in good health and properly cared for.
Featured
Maryland owner of zebras that broke loose faces criminal charges
A Maryland man whose zebras garnered national attention when they broke loose in Prince George’s County is now facing criminal charges.
The question Wednesday was whether the zebras getting out rose to the level of criminal neglect of an animal.
The judge said "no," siding with the defense.
In short, the Maryland laws about animal neglect are a bit ambiguous if there’s no obvious signs of abuse, which weren’t present in this case, something even the prosecutions witnesses even testified to.
Maryland’s law doesn’t require added caution or stricter rules for exotic animals.
Prosecutor Ed Leyden says he disagrees with and respects today’s verdict — but says the law should change.
"To make it clear, if you are going to have exotic animals, if you are going to bring into our county animals that would otherwise be on the Sahara, in the Serengeti, that you have a special responsibility, and we expect you to follow through on that responsibility," Leyden said.
In court, Holly’s attorney said the zebras got out because of a tree that fell on a fence that Holly asked his staff to fix right away, but the zebras escaped before the fix was made.
Defense Attorney Steven Vinick says those circumstances, combined with the overall good condition of the remaining zebras, led to this courtroom win.
"This was an unfortunate event that was not due to him being in any way criminal or even negligent," Vinick said. "The zebras escaped because of an act of Gd, a tree fell on the fence. We heard overwhelming testimony about everything, everything that he did to get those zebras back."
Vinick added that Holly does not have any exotic animals in Prince George’s County anymore, but wouldn’t say where the zebras were.
Vinick also confirmed the U.S. Department of Agriculture is doing an inquiry into Holly now, but wouldn’t say much about that.