WINNSBORO – A woman was recently indicted on 41 counts of animal abuse charges including abandonment, ill treatment, and torture.
The charges stem from an incident that occurred in December 2023, when a WDPS (Winnsboro Department of Public Safety) officer was dispatched to the 100 block of Sixth Street in Winnsboro because animals were running loose. The officer reported that he found numerous dogs running loose near a home where they were housed.
The front door to the house was open. As more animals were found inside the home, more officers as well as animal control were called to the home.
Officers reached the home’s owner, Jinger Coffey Chambers, on the phone and she gave permission for the officers and animal control to enter the home, according to the incident report. After conducting a property check, animal control officers deemed the animals kept at the home were not being taken care of.
The animals within the residence were deemed neglected and treated inhumanely. A search warrant was obtained to enter the residence and obtain evidence of how the animals were being cared for.
Chambers told officers that she ran an animal rescue shelter named Farm Rescue and Sanctuary under a federal license 501(c)3.
When animal control asked for the paperwork for all the animals on the property, Chambers could not provide it in reference to vaccination and immunization records, according to the report.
When animal control advised that it could seize all the animals, Chambers voluntarily released 38 dogs, two cats, and one chicken from the residence to animal control.
The Voice has left messages with Sixth Circuit Solicitor Randy Newman’s office at least three times over the last two weeks, to ask about the specifics of the charges and when the case is scheduled for trial, but has had no response.