State v. Hershey

In 2013, Kenneth Lawrence Hershey’s (defendant) neighbor called Sergeant Needham to report that Hershey’s cattle were starving. Needham drove to Hershey’s property to investigate the allegation. Needham was unable to view the cattle from the public highway. Needham then called Hershey. Hershey stated that he was away but had hired a man to care for his cattle. The following day, Sheriff Glerup received another call from Hershey’s neighbor stating that the cattle were near death. Glerup reported the call to Needham, who contacted another neighbor of Hershey’s. The neighbor confirmed that the cattle were starving. Needham also contacted the man Hershey had claimed to have hired. The man stated that Hershey had not hired him. Needham and Glerup determined that the cattle would suffer serious injury or death if immediate assistance was not provided and entered Hershey’s property without obtaining a warrant. Upon entry, the officers concluded that the cattle were starving and near death. The State of Oregon (plaintiff) charged Hershey with animal neglect. Hershey motioned to suppress the evidence that Needham and Glerup had obtained on the ground that they had entered Hershey’s property without a warrant. Hershey conceded that an emergency-aid exception existed to the warrant requirement and could apply to animals needing immediate aid. However, Hershey maintained that the state had not established that an emergency existed on the ground that the officers did not immediately enter the property after receiving the first phone call and could have waited to obtain a warrant. The trial court denied Hershey’s motion on the ground that the emergency-aid exception applied. Hershey was convicted of first-degree animal neglect. Hershey appealed.