Doctors declare accused animal abuser competent
| Wednesday, Jan 20 2010 04:57 PM
Last Updated Wednesday, Jan 20 2010 04:57 PM
Accused animal abuser Cynthia Gudger has been ruled competent to stand trial by doctors from Patton State Hospital near San Bernardino.
A trial for Gudger, on charges of animal abuse and threatening a public official, has tentatively been scheduled for March.
Those charges were suspended in March 2009 after two doctors said Gudger was not mentally fit to go to trial.
Gudger was committed to Patton State Hospital in April.
Supervising Deputy District Attorney Michael Yraceburn said Gudger agreed last week to take medication for her condition and was cleared for trial.
Yraceburn said he will prosecute the felony case against Gudger.
Kern County Animal Control officers found Gudger living with 18 dogs and 34 cats under the name Anita Gilbert in a Tehachapi warehouse in July 2008.
The warehouse was in "deplorable" condition, officers said. According to reports animals were kept in carriers so full of feces the pets were trapped against the top of the enclosure.
Photos showed hundreds of open cans of cat food strewn across the office area of the warehouse and pet carriers caked in filth. Feces covered large areas of the floor and overflowed from plastic containers.
Gudger was keeping 12 animal carcasses in freezers on the property, animal control officers reported.
The charges of threatening a public official stem from statements Gudger allegedly made against Deputy Public Defender Craig Elkin, her former attorney, early on in the legal process against her.
Gudger, who also faced accusations of animal abuse under the name Barbara Ryan in Hemet, skipped out on bail and fled Kern County's charges against her in August 2008.
She was recaptured by a bail bondsman in Reseda in October 2008.
Next week a judge will rule on whether there is enough evidence to add felony charges of fleeing justice.
Gudger's court-appointed attorney, Michael Lukehart, said while the case will proceed, Gudger's mental health issues remain a concern.
"She's been found (mentally) competent," Lukehart said. "By no means does that mean that all issues in that area have been resolved."
He said he is looking into property issues connected to the warehouse on Bear Valley Road in Tehachapi where Gudger was arrested in July 2008.
Animal rescuer Kimi Peck is living on the property, owned by Beverly Hills accountant Susan Marlowe -- who also allowed Gudger to live on the property.
County code enforcement officers have issued violation notices against Peck for failing to obtain a conditional use permit to operate a shelter on the property.
"There are some people who are involved with the property and it appears to me there is a community of people in this line of ... endeavor. We will be exploring that," Lukehart said.
