Man pleads guilty to animal abuse

A Somerton man pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of leaving horses adopted through a government program without proper feed, water or medical care.

Matthew Ashby, 44, faces a maximum of year in federal prison, a $2,000 fine or both, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office, which announced the plea Monday. Ashby appeared before U.S. Magistrate Jay Irwin late last week.

The judge will announce sentencing on May 28.

Ashby had adopted the three wild horses and a burro from the Bureau of Land Management. Authorities were originally called to his property, however, based on complaints of abuse concerning a privately owned horse that was pregnant, according to file stories from The Sun. The foal died and the horse's poor condition led to its euthanization on the site.

The surviving animals were given to Triple R Ranch, a local non-profit rescue group whose leaders called the case some of the worst abuse they had ever seen.

Ashby still faces two counts of felony cruelty to animals through the Yuma County Attorney's Office for his treatment of the non-BLM horses. His case is still pending, according to the attorney's office, and a trail has not been set.

The animals were seized back in December. At that time Yuma Regional Medical Center confirmed that Ashby was employed at the hospital. Numerous phone calls to The Sun reported that Ashby worked as a nurse.

His property is located along the 14600 block of S. Avenue A 1/2.