Posted on 08/31/2005 5:00:18 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
MADISON, Wis. (AP) - An animal rights activist accused of freeing thousands of mink from farms in the Midwest has struck a deal with federal and state prosecutors to serve two years in prison.
Peter Daniel Young, 28, plans to plead guilty to two federal counts of animal enterprise terrorism on Friday, U.S. assistant attorney Bob Anderson said Wednesday.
In Virginia, Assistant Commonwealth Attorney LaBravia Jenkins said Young would plead guilty to one felony count of obtaining a false ID card that he used while a fugitive. She said state prosecutors would recommend a one-year sentence to be served simultaneously with his federal time.
Investigators believe Young is part of the Animal Liberation Front, a radical group that aims to destroy animal industries it considers inhumane.
Young's attorney, Chris Kelly, said the punishment was fair.
"I think any more than two years would have been unreasonable. There really wasn't much harm done here," Kelly said.
Alex Ott, owner of a Wisconsin mink farm that Young is accused of raiding, scoffed at that, saying the raid terrified his family.
"Let something like that happen to his family and let him say not much damage was done," Ott said.
Prosecutors believe Young and accomplice Justin Samuel raided mink farms in Iowa, South Dakota and Wisconsin in 1997 and freed around 7,000 mink. Both men disappeared after they were indicted in Madison in 1998 on charges that could have led to decades of prison time.
Authorities captured Samuel in Belgium in 1999. He struck a deal and served two years. Young remained at large until March, when he was caught trying to shoplift CDs from a Starbucks in San Jose, Calif.
Young's case took a significant turn in July when prosecutors dropped four extortion counts, saying a 2003 Supreme Court decision changed the legal definition of extortion while he was on the run.
There's just something about fresh meat on a bar-b-q and fur that can't be replaced by substitutes.
I think maybe we'll be able to create fur coats without the animals, or maybe create animals that shed whole furs... wouldn't that be interesting?
I hope he gets a roomie named Bubba.
I'd be honored to pay for the round trip ticket for a Singapore professional caner if he gets to apply ten strokes with the traditional cane.
A friend of mine was a cinematographer and had a family mink farm that was ruined by animal whackos. A pox upon 'em all. And, being Liberals, many of 'em will catch it. ;-)
These are not nice people. They destroy families and put them out of legitimate businesses because of their warped sense of justice. Raising animals for fur is not illegel in Wisconsin. The owners of fur ranches have their lives invested in their operation.
Peter Daniel Young, enjoy your 2 years in prison. You will be 30 years old when you get out. A convicted felon, by the way, cannot vote or own a gun. You will always wear the Scarlet Letter of a Felon and you will always regret it.
There will be one more letter "Q" for Queen.
Mink are aggressive - they are mustelids and have the general behavior of such animals. Think small weasels, or super small wolverines, but with nice fur.
Nice fur is the important part. ;-)
"Think... super small wolverines, but with nice fur."
Jeez, sounds like a nightmare. LOL
Thanks, I thought they were like that.
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