WARREN - A man and woman charged in the cruelty to animals case in which starving and dead dogs and cats were found at their Hamilton Street S.W. home last month have been sentenced to 45 days in jail.
In addition to being incarcerated, Tiffany Charleton, 30, and Michael Kelley, 33, each received five years of probation with a special condition prohibiting them from having any animals during that time.
Their sentences were handed down after Charleton and Kelley each pleaded no contest in Warren Municipal Court on Thursday. In addition, they are each required to comply with the Trumbull County Animal Welfare League by reporting address changes to AWL and allowing league staff to conduct inspections of their residences to ensure there are no animals there.
In a separate case, Randall Charleton Sr., 60, 2530 Hamilton St. S.W., has a second pretrial scheduled for 10:15 a.m. Jan. 25.
All three pleaded not guilty at an arraignment earlier this month in Municipal Court.
The charges against Tiffany Charlton and Kelley stem from a Nov. 28 raid of their 2518 Hamilton St. home where police and animal welfare officials found five dead dogs inside the house and four dead cats outside the house. A live dog was removed from the house.
Warrants were issued for the couple, and they were arrested at the 2530 Hamilton St. S.W. home of Randall Charlton Sr., who was taken into custody on animal cruelty charges after four malnourished dogs were found at his home, according to investigators.
In September, Kelley and Tiffany Charlton were ordered to remove seven of 11 dogs found in their home by Warren Animal Control because of a city ordinance that bans anyone from owning more than four dogs.
The dog found in the Nov. 28 raid is expected to recover. Besides the animals, the home was full of needles and feces and garbage.
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