June jury trial set for former breeding kennel owners in child, animal cruelty cases

FRONT ROYAL – On Monday, March 18, Circuit Court Judge Clifford L. “Clay” Athey ordered a June trial in the 25-count case against former commercial breeding kennel owners Wendy and Brian Tenney. A two-day jury trial was scheduled for June 3-4. A morning docket hearing date of May 6 was set on the defense motion to suppress certain commonwealth evidence. The Tenneys are free on bond and waived their speedy trial right in response to a question from the court about setting a trial date.

Both Tenneys face six felony counts of child endangerment and neglectful care (“Labor-Cruelty and Injuries to Children”), one count for each of their six children under the age of 18, as well as 19 counts each of misdemeanor animal cruelty. The charges stem from the conditions found in their home and a detached kennel area on their property during the execution of a search warrant on September 12, 2018. That search warrant was executed after Animal Control Officer Laura Gomez went to the Tenney residence to report discovery of some of their goats in the road.

Tenney counsel from the Staunton law firm of Timberlake-Smith noted his clients had waived their right to a jury trial; however, the court ordered the case be heard by a jury of the Tenneys’ peers.

General District Court Judge W. Dale Houff certified the felony charges to the grand jury following a 2-1/2 hour hearing on December 12. And while the Tenneys dropped an appeal of the lower court ruling the 28 surviving dogs and cats (of 30 seized) be released for adoption by the Humane Society of Warren County’s Julia Wagner Animal Shelter where they had been held since September 12, they are taking their fight against the misdemeanor animal cruelty charges to the higher court.

At the time of the September 12 search warrant’s execution the Tenneys were in the process of appealing a Warren County Board of Supervisors’ April 17 decision (by a 4-1 vote, only the Tenneys’ South River District Supervisor Linda Glavis dissenting) to revoke their commercial breeding kennel permit. That permit was revoked following a four-month hearing process before both the county planning commission and board of supervisors. The Tenneys have since dropped that appeal.

Brian and Wendy Tenney were arrested and charged with felony counts of cruelty and injuries to children in September of 2018. /Royal Examiner file photo.

The county planning department recommended the commercial breeding kennel permit revocation in the wake of a March 6, 2017 kennel fire at the Tenney property in which 16 dogs died. A county fire investigation indicated the cause of the fire as the type of portable space heater animal control had warned Wendy Tenney against using as they are subject to wire chewing by the dogs. The fire investigation also presented evidence the kennel had been illegally wired without the necessary permitting and inspections.

Addressing the felony counts related to the Tenney children on December 12, General District Court Judge Houff said he did not question that the Tenney children were loved by their parents. However, he disputed defense counsel’s contention that

what was found on the property during the September search presented an uncharacteristic “snapshot” of how the Tenney’s normally lived. Judge Houff said photo evidence and witness testimony presented “such an array of chaos” that it could not simply be dismissed as a momentary aberration without further scrutiny at a higher level, first before a grand jury and then as now certified, before a jury of the Tenneys’ peers.

Following execution of the September 12 search warrant the family’s six minor children were removed from the home and released to the custody of their maternal grandmother. According to Tenney attorney Tate C. Love that transfer was made voluntarily by the Tenneys without a court order. Following the December hearing Love noted that all the Tenneys’ interactions with social services had been voluntary.

Under cross-examination Animal Control Deputy Gomez admitted that on previous inspections of Tenney’s property as recent as March or April 2018 conditions had been normal, clean and acceptable. Defense counsel also pointed out that Mrs. Tenney had asked Gomez to allow her to clean up after she called for the search warrant but had not been allowed to do so.

But under redirect examination Gomez noted that her previous inspections of the Tenney property had always been scheduled in advance – “This was unscheduled,” the animal control officer observed.

Gomez called for the search warrant after observing the conditions in a detached kennel area on the Tenney property. Gomez visited the Tenney property on September 12 to report that some of their goats had escaped the property and were in the road.

Prosecution witnesses from the sheriff’s office involved in the search of the Tenney home and kennel on September 12, 2018, indicated that the combined smell of wasting food, trash, animal feces and general smell of ammonia was so bad they could only continue the search in five-minute increments even with ventilators on due to the strength of the odor.

Animal Cruelty charges added to those facing Wendy and Brian Tenney