With the release of a guilty plea to multiple counts of animal cruelty at Bourbon District Court on May 11, the case against Xavier McGrapth is nearing a conclusion, but McGrapth’s legal issues are not. now includes a separate charge against him.
McGrapth, in the presence of Lexington attorney Braxton Crenshaw, changed his plea to not guilty to being charged with 13 misdemeanors of second degree animal cruelty. He submitted his own conviction to District Judge Mary Jane Phelps on June 22.
The case arose on March 19, 2021, when two dead and nearly a dozen malnourished horses were found by Bourbon County sheriffs on a ranch that McGrapth rented near Paris, Ky, for the public his fledgling coaching and boarding business. More than three weeks later, McGrapth turned himself in and was arrested. He has been free on the bond ever since.
Under the provisions of the law, a person convicted or pleaded guilty to animal cruelty in the second degree can, under the provisions of the statute, be ordered by a court to pay damages to property. property of another and reasonable costs incurred in “feeding, sheltering, veterinary treatment and incidental care of any horse that is the subject of an offence.”
Bourbon County Attorney G. Davis Wilson told BloodHorse last year the effort to resolve the case was fraught with difficulties. “There are many victims who believe they are owed compensation, and that is an accomplice in this case,” he said.
BloodHorse also previously reported that, according to several horse owners affected, a settlement proposal put forward by the district attorney was rejected by the owner several months ago. Under the proposal, McGrapth would be sentenced to 360 days in prison and 180 days in prison with the balance to be placed on probation for two years provided there was no new offense, no exposure to horses or animals during or without related to animals. profession and such compensation is made.
The partial stalemate was broken in late April when Crenshaw applied for leave to have McGrapth plead guilty without a jury trial so Phelps could decide the case after hearing everyone speak.
While accepting the plea on May 11, Phelps ruled that the district attorney could file victim impact statements no later than June 15 for a court review of sentencing one week later. there. A jury trial that took place on May 12 has been removed from the court’s frame.
According to owner/raider Blaine Gerow, New York owner/raider, Blaine Gerow.
“Xavier doesn’t own anything, and he doesn’t have any money, so I don’t know that compensation makes much sense,” Gerow told BloodHorse earlier this year. He said neglect cost him between $15,000 and $20,000 and lost training time.
Lurking amid McGrapth’s legal problems is a Class D felony introduced earlier this year called theft by failure to make the required disposition. Confinement ranges from one year to five years, while the misdemeanor animal cruelty charge against McGrapth carries a maximum prison term of 12 months.
The felony complaint alleges McGrapth failed to use $2,940 total money paid to him by Gerow and Donald Peterson in January and February 2021 to train and board a Purebred ship in Bourbon County.
The same day McGrapth was convicted in the animal cruelty case, a preliminary hearing will be scheduled for the charge. Assuming the hearing goes ahead, Phelps must determine if there is any probable cause to believe that McGrapth committed the crime. If so, the case will be referred to a grand jury.
