TOM GREEN COUNTY, Texas — UPDATE (Jan. 12, 2022): A San Angelo woman who was arrested in 2020 and indicted on a charge of cruelty non-livestock animal-kill/poison/serious bodily injury, a third-degree felony, has pleaded guilty to the charge.
Sarah Alley Howell was indicted by a Tom Green County grand jury in October 2020. The grand jury found Howell, then 81, intentionally, knowingly and recklessly administered antifreeze to a dog in a tray of "weanie pieces" in her front yard without the consent of the dog's owner.
The dog, "Tiny", who belonged to Howell's neighbors, had to be euthanized.
Judge Jay Weatherby sentenced Howell to deferred adjudication, meaning if Howell completes her court-ordered probated sentence without violation of any of the orders, her record will not reflect the charge.
According to court documents, Howell has been placed on community supervision for five years and must report to the probation office every Thursday beginning Jan. 20. She is also ordered to stay in the county, have no contact with Tiny's owner.
Additionally, according to the order, Howell will serve 20 days in the Tom Green County Jail, beginning Jan. 12, 2024, or complete 160 hours of approved community service (at 10 hours per month) before that date.
Howell will have to complete drug tests through her probation period, pay administrative fees, submit written job and earning statements and meet a daily curfew, as part of the plea agreement.
ORIGINAL STORY (Nov. 10, 2020): A San Angelo woman was arrested Tuesday, Nov. 10, after being indicted on charges of felony animal cruelty. She was indicted on a charge of cruelty non-livestock animal-kill/poison/serious bodily injury, a third-degree felony.
According to the indictment, a Tom Green County grand jury found Sarah Alley Howell, 81, intentionally, knowingly and recklessly administered antifreeze to a dog in a tray of "weanie pieces" in her front yard without the consent of the dog's owner.
The indictment was filed Oct. 7, 2020.
The document states, "The defendant's conduct was not a generally accepted and otherwise lawful form of conduct," and was not for the purpose or in support of fishing, hunting or trapping.
A San Angelo Police Department press release in August 2020, officers were dispatched to a residence in the 2200 block of Dartmouth Street for a report of animal cruelty.
Through investigation, officers found a neighbor's dog was allegedly poisoned by eating the tray of sausages left in Howell's yard.
The dog, named "Tiny," was taken to the veterinarian for treatment, but was later euthanized.
Jail records show Howell was booked and released Tuesday on a personal recognizance bond.
