May 25 — Berea — A woman in Central Lake is appealing the verdict after a judge convicted her of two felony animal cruelty charges last year.
Brooklyn Beck, 29, was previously charged with five felony charges of killing or torturing an animal and one felony charge of abandoning more than 25 animals and is currently incarcerated at the Huron Valley Correctional Facility.
Beck pleaded guilty to two felony animal cruelty charges as part of a plea bargain in December and was sentenced by 13th Circuit Judge Thomas Power to two to four years in prison and a $1,600 fine.
The fine will be paid to the County Antrim Animal Control Department, but court testimony showed that staff at the County Animal Control Department spent more than $30,000 and hundreds of hours caring for a variety of non-native animals that Mr. Beck was accused of abuse. It was revealed that he had been found guilty.
According to court records, Beck and her fiancée, Michael Turland, came from Arizona to northern Michigan, rented a house on Mackle Road in Central Lake, and owned a pet grooming business, House of Commerce, in the village’s downtown. Opened Fluff.
Tarland was later filed criminal charges in Arizona, where officials said he and Beck had retrieved nearly 200 animals from a freezer in a rented house in the remote town of Kingman.
In March, Turand was acquitted of two animal cruelty charges related to the freezer case in Mojave County Superior Court, according to court records.
Local officials said they were unable to prove the animal was alive when Tarland put it in the freezer, despite previous statements to law enforcement.
Police records show that Beck and Tarrand ran the House of Fluff together, while Beck also worked in the Grand Traverse County pet grooming business. Police were called when one of Beck’s dogs died shortly afterwards, according to records.
Records show that Beck was charged with animal cruelty in the 86th District Court for his death, but the case was dismissed after a judge brought the Antrim County complaint to the circuit court.
Antrim County Prosecutor James Rossiter previously said that during his initial questioning with law enforcement, Beck said he had animals in his home, but that information sparked the search warrant and officials said the hoof Dozens of malnourished animals, including a Clydesdale horse, were found living in the filth. Maggots are infested.
Traverse City attorney Matthias Johnson, who has represented Beck in criminal cases and previous civil forfeiture cases, believes Beck has mental health problems and has asked a judge to order him on probation. I asked for it.
But Rossiter called for a prison sentence, to which Judge Power agreed, questioning Beck’s apology and expressing his grief over the loss of Reptile.
“Mr. Beck, are you sad that they were taken from you, or are you sad that they starved to death?” Mr. Power asked at a sentencing hearing in December.
“Everything was overwhelmed,” Beck said.
Appellate attorney Robert Siriani Jr. did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday, but has filed a court appearance on behalf of Beck.
Beck has asked the court to pay her bail pending the Court of Appeal’s ruling.
Judge Power resigned shortly after Beck’s sentencing and was succeeded by Charles Hamlin, who was elected in November, and last month Judge Hamlin denied Beck’s bail request.
A date for an appeal hearing has not yet been set. Beck’s earliest release date is December 8, 2024, pending his appeal.
