ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, January 7, 1997 TAG: 9701070103
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: TODD JACKSON AND LISA K. GARCIA STAFF WRITERS
MEMO: ***CORRECTION***
Published correction ran on Hanuary 8, 1997.
Clarification
A story Tuesday about Franklin County pet breeder Valery Green
mentioned several charges brought against her, and later dropped, when
she lived in Radford.
In addition to 26 animal-related charges that were dismissed against
Green, 11 other animal-related charges ended in guilty verdicts in
Radford General District Court.
Radford Commonwealth's Attorney Randal Duncan said the 26 dismissed
charges were dropped at the request of the original complainants.
Valery Green, the Franklin County dog breeder facing animal care charges, is no stranger to the legal system.
Charges - some of which were later dismissed - of improper animal care, arson threat and assaulting a police officer have been filed against Green in the past 10 years in the cities of Martinsville and Radford and in Floyd and Franklin counties, according to court records.
Almost everyone contacted for this story was not only familiar with Green, but had stories to tell about their dealings with her.
"She destroyed my life for a while there," said Kenny Kaye, one of Green's former landlords in Floyd County.
Kaye filed animal care charges against Green after she allowed dogs and cats to defecate in the home she rented from him.
"She had a mattress on the floor that she slept on, and the animal feces was higher than the mattress," Kaye said. "My poor wife had to steam the whole place, wash the floors, walls, ceilings and scrape feces off the walls."
Kaye said he and his wife took four or five truckloads of animal waste from the trailer and a police officer vomited after entering it. The charges were dismissed.
Robert Pennington rented a house to Green in Radford about two years ago.
Pennington said he received complaints about Green and her animals and decided to ask her about the situation.
Green wouldn't let him in the house, he said. Because he didn't specify his rights in Green's lease, Pennington said, he stayed away.
He didn't see the inside of the home until she moved out months later.
"I've never seen such a mess," he said. "Feces was all over the floors, and there was cat hair and cat urine all over the place. When she moved in, she told me she had two dogs."
Green was charged with 26 animal care violations while she lived in Radford, but all charges were dismissed or taken under advisement last September.
Radford Commonwealth's Attorney Randal Duncan, who was in court most of Monday, could not be reached for comment about why the charges were dismissed.
Liz McKinney, who, along with her sister, has filed charges against Green in Montgomery County, said the city of Radford refused to adequately pursue the case against Green.
Floyd County Commonwealth's Attorney Gino Williams said he remembered some cases involving Green. He could not recall many details, or why the charges were dismissed, including one of obstructing an officer in the course of his duty.
Before that, she was convicted in 1990 for assaulting Martinsville police officer M.J. Thomas.
"It's been awhile," Thomas said Monday, "but I think she kicked me."
Green got a 30-day suspended jail sentence and 12 months' probation on the assault and two unrelated convictions.
It was then that she moved to Floyd County, then to Radford. After that, Green lived in Rockbridge County for a few months and then moved to Franklin County, where more problems surfaced.
Tammy Javier, a state-certified animal investigator who has been assisting with the Franklin County case against Green, said, "I have wondered how this has gotten this far."
Green's latest problem prompted Franklin County Circuit Judge B.A. Davis III to sign a court order Friday giving animal control officers and humane society representatives the authority to search the property Green rents near Ferrum and to secure the dogs and cats she owns.
The court order came after Green failed to appear for a hearing last month on a charge of failing to care for her animals properly. There have been complaints about Green from her neighbors, and Javier told Davis that she thought the search warrant was essential.
Securing the animals was no small task. There were 119 of them at last count, said Bennie Russell, the county's assistant director of public safety.
Of those, 23 puppies were taken to a local veterinarian for emergency care.
Javier and Donna Essig, president of the humane society's board, took part in the search.
They said animal feces were piled up inside carriers holding dogs and piled up inside Green's home.
"It's hard for me to imagine anyone living in conditions like that," Essig said.
Green is scheduled to appear in Franklin County Court Jan. 15. Essig and Javier said they hope Green's animals are taken away from her.
Green, according to Franklin County officials, checked herself into Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital over the weekend and could not be reached for comment. She didn't return phone calls left for her last week.
The reason for Green's hospital stay wasn't available. A nurse at Roanoke Memorial said Monday night that Green was in satisfactory condition.
An April 14 court date in Montgomery County is set for Green on charges of threat of arson and obtaining property with intent to defraud - a felony that carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
The charges were filed by McKinney and her sister, Lynn Grimsley.
McKinney said she and her sister, who were operating a dog kennel, were looking for a home for a Jack Russell terrier. Green wanted the dog, and an agreement was drawn up that she would have it spayed, McKinney said.
Instead, McKinney and her sister claim, Green bred the dog and put an ad in the newspaper to sell the puppies.
When confronted, Green said she was going to burn McKinney's house down, according to a police statement.
Bev Davis, Green's court-appointed attorney in Montgomery County, said Green plans to plead not guilty to the charges.
LENGTH: Long : 118 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: DON PETERSEN/Staff. 1. Dogs in one of several pensby CNBoutside the Franklin County home of Valery Green. Authorities found
about 120 cats and dogs. color. 2. One of several dog pens outside
Valery Green's home. This one held about 25 dogs.