Arrest made in horse attack

By Alexis Stevens

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A Fayette County 17-year-old has been arrested for allegedly shooting a horse with multiple arrows.

Jeremy Ryan Richardson faces felony animal cruelty charges for allegedly attacking the animal on a Bankstown Road farm in south Fayette County, according to Investigator Brent Rowan with the Fayette County Sheriff's Department.

On Sunday, a neighbor on the street called police after finding the horse, whose body and face had been shot multiple times.

The 8-year-old horse, named Misty, underwent four hours of surgery following the attack. Newnan veterinarian Jason McClendon, who specializes in horses, performed the surgery in the pasture, said Teresa Padovano, daughter-in-law of the horse's owners.

One of the arrows was lodged in the horse's spine, McClendon said Thursday.

"The horse is doing well," McClendon said. "Of course, she's a little sore."

Richardson is being held in the Fayette County Jail awaiting a bond hearing, Rowan said.

At least $7,000 worth of reward money has been offered during the week, including $5,000 from the Atlanta Humane Society, to help find the person responsible for injuring the horse. Larry Harvey of Kennesaw offered a $1,000 reward, along with radio personality Neal Boortz.

"That's a check I'll write in a second," Harvey said Thursday evening.

No determination has been made on who may get the reward money.

Those in the small Fayette community, and across the metro area, have offered to help the family with medical bills, Padovano said.

In addition to attacking Misty, Richardson is also being charged with several game violations, Rowan said.

Richardson faces 12 charges stemming from not reporting to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources that he had killed several deer.

He also faces one charge of hunting deer at night for allegedly shooting and killing a deer on West Kelly Lake Drive in Fayette County, and one count of hunting deer over bait when he killed a deer on Kelly Lake Drive using the assistance of a deer feeder.

The wildlife charges are misdemeanors, Rowan said.

Wayne Bilbo, who says he's lived in his Bankstown Road home for 37 years, called police in November to report a man he believed was attempting to shoot animals that live along the street.

"He probably thought he could get by with it," Bilbo said.

Bilbo says he doesn't own any animals himself, but the horse that was attacked belongs to the family across the street. In the past, Bilbo says deer on his property have been killed. And a bullet grazed a tree in front of his home.

"I hate it because he's so young," Bilbo said of Richardson. "But he knows better."

The family of the horse's owners has been overwhelmed with the support it has received, and are glad the person responsible for injuring Misty is apparently off the street. As for Misty, she's definitely on the road to recovery.

"She's holding up so good," Padovano said. "She really has a strong heart and will to live."