LIHU‘E — Two men have pleaded not guilty to stealing a pregnant goat from a Kaua‘i dairy, the Associated Press reported on Thursday. Kaua‘i County Deputy Prosecutor Jake Delaplane said Thursday Ryan Winchell and Russell Ho‘omanawanui pleaded not guilty to
LIHU‘E — Two men have pleaded not guilty to stealing a pregnant goat from a Kaua‘i dairy, the Associated Press reported on Thursday.
Kaua‘i County Deputy Prosecutor Jake Delaplane said Thursday Ryan Winchell and Russell Ho‘omanawanui pleaded not guilty to charges including theft of livestock, criminal property damage and cruelty to animals at their arraignment Wednesday.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 30.
Police say the men disemboweled Kaitlyn, a three-year-old pregnant goat last month, stealing the goat but leaving her organs and two unborn kids behind.
The Kaitlyn belonged to Kilauea’s Kunana Dairy, owned by the Wooton family. The tame white doe was gutted in a field in Moloa‘a, about a mile south of Kilauea.
Dairy co-owner Louisa Wooton said in May that Kaitlyn was like a family member, and also a working animal that generated about $7,000 in annual income for the dairy.
“Our goats are so fricking tame, she was probably kissing his hands while he knifed her in the heart,” Wooton said.
Winchell’s attorney filed a motion asking that his client be allowed to leave the state and return for the hearing.
Delaplane says he objected and that the judge will consider allowing him to leave if bail is increased to $40,000.
Winchell is free on $8,100 bail. Ho‘omanawanui is free on $8,000 bail.
