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Jason Meduna Sentenced 5 to 10 Years, Eligible for Parole in 20 months

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Jason Meduna, right, former owner of the 3-Strikes Mustang Ranch, walks into a Morrill County courtroom with his attorney John Berry of Lincoln. Meduna is currently standing trial for abusing horses and burros seized from the ranch. Photo by Maunette Loeks

Jason Meduna, found guilty of 145 counts of felony animal cruelty has been sentenced to jail for 5 to 10 years, depending on behavior and $3,800 in court costs.  Eligible for parole in only 20 months.

Details to follow.

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18 replies »

  2. This is nowhere near enough time!! I was afraid this would happen. For him to be eligible for parole after less than 2 years is ludicrous! They are also saying that he has been banned from living with any animal for 30 years.

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  5. This is not enough, hopefully someone on the inside will learn of his animal abuse and he will leave feet first in a body bag, that is what he deserves. Its a disgrace to call him a human.

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  6. Let’s all pray that he gets in a fight with Bubba and he don’t get out for good behavior. They are saying he is banned from having animals, what about his wife ? I’m disgusted 😦

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  8. Shouldn’t those at BLM be held accountable for this situation also??! Who was directly responsible for overseeing Meduna’s operation and care of these animals? They should be taken to court and have to pay back any wages they were paid because they sure as heck didn’t do their jobs!! That we as taxpayers and owners of these public lands and all the creatures that live there, have been duped and blind sided by this facet of BLM, makes me angry! And so very sad for the loss of the animals freedom to live as nature intended and, the loss of life….
    If GOD is real, HE will take care of Meduna when it’s his time to face Judgement. In the meantime we the public need to write,call,fax,talk to those people in office. And come election time, do some research and know where that person you’re voting for stands on the issues important regarding our public lands.
    Okay, getting down from my soap box,…for now.

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    • I agree! Meduna took thousands $$$$$$$$$$$ from those trying to help BEFORE the rescue started for these hundreds of *terribly suffering horses! Then all the money put forth by organizations (HSUS, HfH…) and private donations for the rescue! He almost got NO FINE! *&*^%$#@

      I am very “upset” at the sentencing!
      The CRIME against humane and humanity was very serious…baloney the defense said “they [horse] were not people.” !!!!!

      What was going on with the judge? I wonder if his much lesser sentencing has anything to do with being from cattle/horse/cowboy country. I wonder what this judge’s background is?

      It says a lot the seriousness the judge took the charges against Meduna, sentencing he cannot have or be around animals for 30 years! But then Meduna gets a “slap on the wrist.”
      With “good behavior,” for sure Meduna will be out in 20 months…or sooner if his lawyer’s appeal gets a lesser sentence.

      We can be satisfied Meduna did get jail time, but to me, Meduna got off almost scot-free. Needless to say, Meduna is a very dangerous man. To do this to hundreds of animals, steal money, harass and seriously threaten those living near him…

      Another SOCIOPATH/PSYCHOPATH gets off.
      That said, I know JUSTICE will come for the horses…Meduna will pay one way or the other for his brutal, heinous torturing, killing, of all these innocent animals. !!!!!!!

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  11. I have a couple of questions.

    Were these charges on the Federal level? If so, then he wouldn’t eligible for parole (I refer to the American Taliban–what’s his name), his folks live in my county. He got 20 years and has to serve the whole thing. No time off for good behavior.

    I know in CA he would probably be pardoned by Governor Stupid (swartzeneggar) because he wouldn’t be considered a threat to man (only to non feeling animals–bull).

    Okay assuming (I hate that word) he gets out in some 20 months will he go on parole for the rest of his sentence? If so, what are those conditions? Can he drink? Carry a firearm? What happens if he does drugs? Would he go straight back to prison–no second chances??? If so, then we need to find out who his parole officer is and educate him about what this creep did.

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  12. I would like to mention that I am from the town that Meduna lived in. He kept his secret well hidden. In a town of 8,000 everyone knows everyone’s business except this time. And Judge Leo Dobrovolny has lived here a long time. Even us from cattle/horse/cowboy country (as Ronnie put it) were disgusted with Meduna. He is living scum and should have to suffer the consequences, while I personally believe the sentence was to light, the Judge has his own views and must have seen something that hardly any one did see. And if he had been given any harder of a sentence they would have repealled and fought it to the death.

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  13. I was at this wreck for 24 days, I with the help of a bunch of volunteers and jerry Finch saw this mess transpire.
    jason meduna got what he did for 1 reason…there was no precedent for the judge to go by.
    I know the judge and he is a just man, he did what he could and he sentenced this idiot in the fashion our legal system allows…is it right?…NO!

    jason is going to do his time, he will never reside in Morrill County, Nebraska again, his crime will follow him every where he goes…

    Out of this ordeal we should have learned some things…
    first off all horse and other animal rescues need to be accredited. Jerry Finch and Habitat for Horses did get accredited…it just makes sense so people don’t get duped again!
    You shouldn’t adopt a horse if you haven’t checked the rescues out you are anticipating sending an animal too.
    You’d be better off rescuing a gerbil than a horse if you haven’t a clue about the needs of a horse.
    Volunteer at a rescue, give up every available moment you can to see animals get rescued from deviants like Meduna…then you can respect what goes on, and it will give you new perspective on what the human animal is capable of.

    I promise you this…I will make a personal trip to Lincoln Nebraska at the parole hearing to voice my concerns…I will also hand carry any letters you want the parole board to read.
    If you ever hear of any person doing anything like this again…go immediately to law enforcement and make a call to HSUS…

    Please stay in touch…
    A year ago today I got involved in this rescue…I celebrate my 36th wedding anniversary tomorrow…a year ago Jerry Finch bought my wife and I supper…I’m really glad to be home this year and not worrying about somebody locally doing this crime today.
    God bless those who helped us…

    4 weeks ago, the mare I kept delivered a fine healthy stud colt…his name is Shelby’s Sunny Surprise…as far as I know this is the last addition to the original herd… I’m glad I have him, I’m just sorry he had to come to me in the aftermath of such a sad ordeal…
    I don’t believe those grimacing skulls and emaciated horses, nor the stench of the killing grounds will ever leave my mind. I will never find the peace of mind to forgive jason meduna for what he did to those horses…
    I’m glad this experience is still fresh in my mind…I hate the nightmares and the thought of how this guy could sleep at night knowing those horses out on the range, and others not a hundred feet away from his bedroom window were struggling and dying so miserably…I shudder when I think of how this degenerate took all the time he did dragging dead and dying horses to the top of a hill and left them there …I know mothers followed dead and dying colts…and I know colts followed mothers…I saw haloes in the sand where horses died struggling from the pangs of starvation…I know those poor horses were in misery as the cold harsh ground gave up the cold and it permeated their very core…I saw a horse that had been down for days during the recent blizzards and still had the will to be alive for days… we had to put him out of his misery…we necropsied the poor emaciated animal and I watched handfuls of writhing worms swim in the body fluids…
    I saw horses follow me and my machine around in circles while we fed them…it was like I had a magnet on the back of the loader…
    I will never forget the hungry horses on the feed ground after we rescued them…those horses never lifted their heads for 5 days after we got them to the rodeo grounds…
    I’ll remember the emaciated VooDoo…I remember me and Amanda walking Rayu in…I’ll never forget leading the sad, scared colt out of the hills…most of all I will never, ever forget the volunteers or 211 horses that I touched with my hands…I will never forget apologizing to them for jason’s actions and asking them to please trust us and not die from fear anymore…
    I carry kind of a sodden weight from this experience, but, I would do it again.
    I am bothered by what I saw…I will carry it with me till my dying day…I will also relate this ordeal to anyone who will listen…I have too otherwise I couldn’t cope at all…
    God bless you people…
    God bless all the pretty horses and watch over them ponies on the wild ground.
    Jim weber
    308-760-1983
    e-mail: wehuntnebraska@hotmail.com

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