A couple moved out of a West Richland trailer. Police made a gruesome discovery
A couple is accused of letting three dogs and a bird starve to death inside a West Richland trailer in late March.
Michael A. Parks, 30, and his girlfriend, Shania Stout, 27, are charged with first- and second-degree animal cruelty for leaving the dogs and bird locked up inside a camper at the Red Mountain RV Park.
Judge Norma Rodriguez issued $100 bench warrants for Parks and Stout after they failed to show up at their Wednesday arraignment.
Police made the gruesome discovery at the Van Giesen Street park after people reported on March 21 that they saw an abandoned and neglected dog near the trailer.
The caller was worried that the dog was barking all night and didn’t have any food or water.
The person tried to put out water and food for the dog, but it ran inside the trailer.
When Officer Roman Seipert arrived at the scene, he found the doors to the trailer open and the lights on. There was an eviction notice taped to the side of the trailer.
When he looked inside, he found the trailer was filled with garbage and destroyed items and animal waste. As he stepped into the trailer in search of the stray dog, he discovered the dead animals, according to court documents.
None of the animals appeared to have been fed or watered for a long time. Seipert also found a large cage that had been broken open.
Abandoned pets
Another officer caught the stray dog, according to court documents. The dog’s chest, belly, legs and tail were stained with animal waste.
The officer had previously spoken to Parks about the dog, and he said he would come collect the animal after he initially asked to hand it over to police, according to court documents.
Police soon learned that Stout had been the previous renter of the trailer and had moved out on Feb. 23. There were Facebook pictures showing the dog running around the trailer and several posts from Stout selling dogs.
This story was originally published September 9, 2023 at 5:00 AM.