Two sentenced for animal abuse leading to 29 dogs' deaths

STONE COUNTY, Mo. -- Two people charged with the abuse and death of 29 dogs on a property in Galena have each submitted an Alford plea of guilty to one count of animal abuse.

In an Alford Plea, the defendants do not admit guilt but concede that there is enough evidence to support a conviction.

John Griffiths and Jessica Johnson have both been sentenced to 90 days in jail, but they were granted a suspended execution of sentence with two years of unsupervised probation.

According to previous Ozarks First coverage, the Stone County Sheriff's Office recieved reports of neglected animals on Griffiths' property in January 2024. Deputies found that 29 dogs were dead and about 55 more that were malnourished and in inadequate living conditions. A group of dogs was even found fighting over the re