2 plead guilty in Ferndale animal cruelty case

A woman and her son have pleaded guilty to animal cruelty in a case involving more than 50 animals in the Ferndale area of northwest Washington.

Whatcom County senior deputy prosecutor Eric Richey says he plans to recommend 90-day jail sentences for Maria A. Huffman and her son, Richard Huffman, who pleaded guilty on Thursday to first-degree animal cruelty.

The Huffmans also would be barred from owning animals for five years.

A third defendant in the case, Maria Huffman's husband, Michael Wopat, is scheduled to go to trial Feb. 9.

Fifty-seven malnourished dogs, cats, chickens, ducks and other birds were seized at the Huffmans' home or at a nearby rental property on Oct. 9.

The three were ordered not to possess any animals, but charging documents say four dogs were found living in a kennel on the property that Maria Hoffman and Wopat rented.

A neighbor told investigators that he saw Wopat on the property late at night Oct. 29. Two days later, the neighbor found the dogs with their throats slashed. Only one puppy survived.

Wopat and Maria Huffman were charged with additional counts of animal cruelty in the dogs' deaths, but Richey said those charges would be difficult to prove in court.

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Information from: The Bellingham Herald, http://www.bellinghamherald.com