PAYETTE COUNTY, Idaho — A Payette County man was sentenced Friday to eight years of probation after four of his horses died from dehydration in the summer of 2018.
Ivan Shannon Pearce was convicted of four counts of misdemeanor cruelty to animals in the case. Prosecutors say he neglected to provide water to his horses, leaving them to perish in triple-digit heat.
Neighbors told KTVB they found the water tanks in Pearce's pasture "bone-dry," and tried to save some of the horses by running water out to them with a hose. After the sheriff's office got involved, Pearce gave conflicting statements on whether he had physically checked on the horses during the July heat, officials say.
Pearce was given a withheld judgment, which means he can petition the cruelty convictions to be scrubbed from his record if he successfully completes the terms of his probation.
In addition to the probation, he was sentenced to spend four days in jail with work release, serve 20 days on the sheriff's work crew, and pay a $4,000 fine.
