Woman gets prison term for animal cruelty

A Lancaster woman has been sentenced to two years and eight months in state prison after pleading no contest to animal cruelty charges, CBS2 news reports:

The charges stemmed from a dog and a horse that had to be put down after Animal Control officers found the neglected animals. Janis Ridgeway Damiani, 57, was the manager of a horse rescue in Pearblossom where, authorities said, a number of horses were kept in deplorable conditions that included being underfed.

Twenty-eight other animal cruelty charges filed against her earlier this month were dismissed as a result of the plea, according to John Nantroup, head deputy of the district attorney's Antelope Valley office.

Those charges involved 14 other horses and 14 cats that were starving or severely injured and had to be euthanized, authorities said.