No contest plea to animal cruelty nets Comanche County cattleman suspended sentences

A Comanche County cattleman received two five-year suspended sentences after pleading no contest to neglecting his herd of longhorns in order to sell their skulls and horns.

On Tuesday, Charles W. “Chuck” Dickens, 75, of Lawton, offered his plea in Comanche County District Court to two felony counts of cruelty to animals, records indicate.

A no contest plea doesn’t expressly admit guilt but allows that evidence would most likely lead to conviction.

Along with the concurrent suspended sentences, District Judge Grant Sheperd ordered Dickens to pay $3,166.75 in fines and court costs.

Dickens pleaded guilty to depriving his longhorn herd of “necessary food, drink, shelter and veterinary care causing pain, suffering and cruel death to some through starvation and malnutrition,” the warrant affidavit states.

Investigators said the neglect was between Jan. 23 and Feb. 22, 2023, when 19 head of livestock were removed from his property and put into the care of veterinarian Dr. Larry Chambers.

An anonymous complaint was received regarding the herd on Dickens’ properties at 10826 NW Meers/Porter Hill Road and at 9032 NW Wolf Road. The caller said a dead longhorn seen Jan. 23, 2023, during a snowstorm caused concerns about the rest of the herd, according to the affidavit.

The remaining longhorns were found by investigators to be in “poor condition” and lacking any edible grass and were without signs of having any hay or feed, the affidavit states. The livestock continued to be monitored and when a longhorn was found dead on the property, Dr. Gary Stone, the Veterinary Medical Officer at the State of Oklahoma, was contacted.

Stone determined numerous longhorns were “grossly underweight, malnourished and in need of additional feed and care along with a lack of drinkable water,” according to the affidavit. One yearling had to be euthanized.

There were 17 deceased cattle carcasses in various stages of decay, along with two horses. Stone determined three of those deaths were due to starvation and two were likely due to it, the affidavit states.

Available feed and hay were found at the property, although unavailable to the cattle. A plan was made by Stone with Dickens to make improvements. However, on a visit in later February, it was determined he’d failed to follow the plan and more animals were found dead.

An additional search warrant was obtained and it was determined that immediate veterinarian care was needed for the livestock. Nineteen head of cattle were taken into custody and placed with Chambers.

A forfeiture hearing offered an argument by Tommy Sims, Dickens’ lawyer at the time, that the cattle were his property to do with as he wished and cited the “unique value” of the animals’ horns in the marketplace.

Dickens was ordered to post a bond of $18,050 for the care and recovery of the herd.