Humboldt County District Attorney’s Office press release:

Joshua Matthew Slater entered a “no contest” plea today in the Humboldt County Superior Court to one felony count of Cruelty To An Animal. His plea will be treated as a guilty plea for purposes of sentencing. The remaining cases against him were dismissed as a part of the resolution and the Court may consider those charges when sentencing Mr. Slater.

The case arose out of an incident on April 11, 2013, in which Mr. Slater shot a young horse named “Cash” using a crossbow. A second case of felony animal cruelty involved the alleged killing of a goat by Mr. Slater on April 19, 2013. A battery case arose out of an alleged incident in the jail while Mr. Slater was in custody for these cases, and another case arose out of an incident on March 6, 2013, in which park rangers at the Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park allegedly found Mr. Slater unlawfully in possession of deer and elk parts.

The cases were being prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Christa McKimmy, who is assigned to the District Attorney’s Office Environmental and Consumer Protection Unit. Says Ms. McKimmy, “We are confident that given Mr. Slater’s plea in this case, the sentencing court will impose a sentence that will be in the best interest of the public and Mr. and Mrs. Bean, who as the owners of Cash are victims in this case.” Sentencing will be on January 15, 2014, at 2:00 p.m. in department 4. He could be sentenced up to three years in local custody.

PREVIOUSLY: 

• Arrest Made in the Case of ‘Who Shot The Horse With An Arrow?’
• Who Shot Cash? — An Arrow is Found in a Fortuna Horse