Woman Arrested After Over 50 Dead Animals Discovered, Starving Horse Found Twisted Into Disturbing U-Shape

A California woman has been arrested after dozens of dead and starving animals were found on her properties, according to law enforcement authorities.

Jan Johnson of Clements was arrested Wednesday and booked into the San Joaquin County jail on charges of animal cruelty, threatening a public official, criminal threats, and possession of a short-barrel shotgun, according to the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office.

The case was first announced Wednesday on the department’s post, which initially put the number of dead animals at roughly 27.

But a follow-up story Friday by Sacramento NBC outlet KCRA-TV said additional properties were searched over the next several days, resulting in dozens more dead animals being found, including 53 horses, one cow, and a dog.

Another 13 horses had to be euthanized, in addition to a donkey and a bull, according to the report.

One of the photos published by the sheriff’s office depicted a horse that appeared to be suffering from severe lordosis, or swayback, but there was no word on whether it was one of those that was euthanized.

WARNING: The following post contains images that some readers may find disturbing.

KCRA quoted SJSO spokeswoman Rita Long as saying, “There was no hope for them unfortunately.”

Oakdale Equine Rescue reported on its page that it had taken in “a grand total of 101 animals with a breakdown of 89 mares, yearlings, weanling colt, geldings, 4 stallions, 4 donkeys, 3 llamas and one molly mule.”

The post added, “With that said, we would like to photos, which are rather disturbing to give people that are questioning this seizure an idea of why this is taking place.

“This has been going on for sometime, this does not happen overnight.

“The number of deceased horses, including a dog and a cow that are visible on the ground not to mention the bones sticking out of the ground of this huge burial [site] is disturbing.

“There are no excuses for this no matter how you spin it.”

Oakdale Equine Rescue added thanks “to all that have supported our Rescue and the donations that have been coming in” since the news of the abuse investigation broke. They said their donation site uses a QR code on their page and warned that scammers have set up phony donation sites on GoFundMe and Venmo.

They said they have had hundreds of texts and phone calls regarding adoption of the horses, but said the animals are actually the property of San Joaquin County Animal Control.

The Lodi News reported that Johnson, 63, was released from jail the day of her arrest.

Authorities told KCRA the neglect was first reported in August, “But when animal services tried to make contact with property owner Jan Johnson, she threatened the officers.”

On Jan. 4, deputies responded to a report of a rooster fight at one of Johnson’s properties, according to the TV news outlet. “In that case, 30 dead roosters were found along with 65 live roosters. Following that incident, the sheriff’s office was able to obtain a search warrant for her home and other associated properties.”

“This is not the first time Johnson has been arrested on abuse or cruelty charges,” the Lodi News reported. “In 2006, she was arrested on suspicion of 42 charges of financial elder abuse after she began taking care of an 83-year-old woman three years prior.

“The woman, who lived at a Lockeford residence owned by Johnson and her husband, had more than $300,000 and was down to $289 at the time of the arrest, according to [Lodi] News-Sentinel archives.”

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