SIDNEY, Iowa — The race isn't over, but the stakes of one horse contest were significantly lowered Thursday afternoon.
District Court Judge Charles Smith acquitted Jay Longinaker of felony theft, leaving only a misdemeanor trespass charge for him to decide.
The ruling came after hours of testimony from law enforcement officers, as well as a few horse lovers who say Longinaker trespassed on their property, stole their horses, and then refused to return them without setting conditions about the horses' return.
The judge did not agree, approving defense attorney Michael Murphy's motion to acquit.
Longinaker was caught up in a horse fight that began on a rural Sidney acreage in September 2007 and came to a head in the Fremont County Courthouse.
The president of Tri-Valley Bank in Randolph, Iowa, Longinaker organized the seizure of about 15 horses that September. The horses had been pledged as collateral for the loan on a home that had been foreclosed upon and sold at auction earlier that summer.
The problem was, at least four of those horses did not belong to Pamela Morgan-Krein, the former homeowner. They belonged to her neighbors and relatives, Kim and Tom Becker.
Morgan-Krein does not believe she owed more money on the house. But that issue was barely addressed during the trial.
Instead, the prosecutor, Assistant Attorney General Stephen Reno, focused on which horses were taken, the way they were obtained, and what happened before the horses were returned.
Tom Becker, Kim Becker and Morgan-Krein all testified that after they told Longinaker that some of the horses taken belonged to the Beckers, no effort was made to return the horses. Tom Becker said that Longinaker told him he could have his horses back if he pointed out which of Morgan-Krein's horses were still on the acreage. Kim Becker and Morgan-Krein testified they were told they had to pay almost $8,000 to satisfy the debt and get the horses back.
After they turned over the money, they testified they were asked to sign a document that released the bank from any liability from the "beginning of time" through the date of signing. They refused, but the horses were released anyway.
Longinaker did not testify as to the veracity of those claims, although Murphy, his attorney, said before the trial that Longinaker had offered to return the horses if they would tell him which ones belonged to the Beckers.
"There was no criminal intent," said Murphy.
Longinaker and the bank previously lost a civil case involving the same series of events. That jury awarded Kim Becker and Krein $126,000 and $96,000, respectively, in punitive damages. That verdict has been appealed.
After Thursday's trial, Tom Becker said he thought the verdict was unfair but was ready to put it behind him.
"It's been two years," said Becker. "It's time to focus on other things."
Contact the writer:
444-1310, elizabeth.ahlin@owh.com
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