A Shawnee, Wyoming, rancher was fined $500 Tuesday in Douglas Circuit Court after pleading no contest to starving horses he’d earlier claimed were poisoned.
Joe Bright, 58, was charged Nov. 8, 2023, with five counts of failing to feed or water the animals.
The citations followed a viral online post Bright made via his ranch’s Facebook page Bright Ranch, in which the ranch offered a $10,000 reward for the arrest and conviction “of anyone connected to the murder of our horses!”
Bright had said at the time that five horses were poisoned and four of them died. One of the horses was treated by a Colorado State University veterinarian and saved, said a post from the time.
"They were found dead yesterday, I can’t go into details as the investigation is still underway,” said the July 31, 2023, post. “We picked my Wife’s horse Amigo up from CSU he is ready to come home, very stiff and wobbly. Just plain hurting ... Was gut wrenching watching him trotting around calling for his life-long friends."
In a GoFundMe page by which the Bright family raised $583 toward its offered reward, Bright wrote: “All I want is for whoever did this to answer for it.”
No Contest
Bright pleaded no contest to two animal-starvation charges Tuesday in Douglas Circuit Court.
A no-contest plea behaves like a guilty plea in criminal court, except it can spare someone future fallout in civil court because he doesn’t have to confess to the crime to end his case and accept his sentence.
“I’ll accept your pleas,” Douglas Circuit Court Judge Clark C. Allan said Tuesday in Bright’s change-of-plea hearing.
Acting according to a plea agreement Bright and his attorney struck with the case prosecutor, Allan assessed a $250 fine per citation — or $500 total — and ordered Bright to pay $140 total in court costs.
Bright said he was prepared to pay the fines Tuesday.
The Converse County Attorney's Office agreed to dismiss the other three citations in exchange for Bright's no contest pleas.
'Cares About His Horses Like Family'
Bright also maintains his innocence, his attorney Scott Homar told Cowboy State Daily in a Tuesday email.
“He cares about his horses like family,” wrote Homar. “While there was significant evidence and witnesses pointing to others that have motive, opportunity and means to harm Mr. Bright’s livestock, a trial would have cost him tens of thousands of dollars.”
The prosecutor believed he had enough evidence to convict, so Bright decided to sign the plea agreement and resolve his case, Homar wrote.
Allan also referenced the GoFundMe page. He said any donors requesting reimbursement for what they gave shall have their requests honored. And any money left will be donated to the Wyoming Horse Rescue Program.
Homar said there was about $530 left in the GoFundMe account Tuesday, and he reiterated that that money will be returned to donors and donated to the charity.
“After the incident, Mr. Bright put up a significant amount of his own money as a reward toward finding the person or persons responsible,” Homar said.
Wyoming Livestock Board Investigator Chris Strang, who investigated the case, did not return a Tuesday voicemail request for comment.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
