Plambeck trial Day 1: Footage shows filthy, neglected dogs in Mercer County
Prosecutors say Karen Plambeck mistreated almost 200 dogs found in poor conditions almost two years ago.
On Tuesday in Mercer County Court, attorneys gave opening statements followed by the first witness testimonies in her trial.
A Mercer County detective’s body-camera footage was vital in examination of evidence on day one.
“I was concerned about every dog,” said Anthony Baugh, a Mercer County detective. “The dog’s in the barn though, they were all in small cages. The feces was in the floor of the kennels just mounded up. The hair was just matted to the floorboard. It was just piled up through there, and the hair, it was just disgusting.”
Baugh took the stand on the first day of the Plambeck trial, providing more than an hour’s worth of body camera footage from the day the Mercer County Sheriff’s Office was called to the Plambeck property.
Plambeck waived her right to a jury trial, making all of the evidence presented in the trial part of the judge’s decision. In a jury trial, the jury makes the decisions. In a bench trial, the judge makes the decisions.
Sounds of barking dogs filled the courtroom Tuesday, with the voice of Baugh in the body camera footage in disbelief at what he saw that day.
“Every bucket that I looked in that was there for the dogs, had algae growing on it,” Baugh said. “Or there were bugs floating in it. I was concerned about every dog.”
On cross examination, Baugh was visibly frustrated with the questions being asked. “That is not dirt, that is hair,” Baugh told the defense attorney during cross examination. “I’m talking about all of it that looks like dirt, is hair matted into the ground.”
Our Quad Cities News spoke with the Mercer County State’s Attorney, who said roughly nine to 10 witnesses would take the stand the week of the trial. She also said the trial would most likely take the full scheduled amount of time.
The state called two more witnesses after Baugh. The defense will cross-examine the state’s third witness at the start of court Wednesday morning.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WHBF - OurQuadCities.com.
