Medeiros pleads not guilty to 21 animal cruelty charges

Twenty-one times the charge of animal cruelty was read Wednesday morning, once for every rented lot on Richard Medeiros’ 70 acres of woods off American Legion Highway in Westport.

And 21 times, Mr. Medeiros, steadied by a cane and listening through hearing aids, replied “not guilty” to those charges that stemmed from last year’s discovery of some 1,400 animals being kept in frightful conditions on his land.

Some of those animals — pigs, cows, ponies, sheep, dogs and more — could not be saved and had to be euthanized. Others that had already perished were found lying on the ground or buried in pits.

Superior Court Judge Renee Dupuis released the 83-year-old Westport resident on personal recognizance. He is next scheduled to appear in that court on August 1 for a pre-trial conference. His pre-trial hearing is set for September 11.

Like others who are appearing this week to answer state prosecutors’ charges of their own in connection with what has been called the largest animal cruelty case in New England, Mr. Medeiros was ordered to neither possess nor care for animals until his case his decided.

Outside the courtroom, Mr. Medeiros declined comment.

Mr. Medeiros was one of five defendants in the case to appear Wednesday — a total of 26 are charged in the state’s 151-count indictment and all are scheduled to be arraigned from Tuesday through Friday this week. According to Westport Police and prosecutors, Mr. Medeiros rented the lots, hidden away down a long dirt lane and locked gate, to the defendants on a cash basis.

On Wednesday, Jeffrey Brilhante was the first to appear — he answered “not guilty” to nine animal cruelty counts. As with the other tenant ‘farmers,’ he faces one charge for each of the nine species found on his lot.

Joao Aguiar, 73, of Fall River, plead not guilty to ten charges.

Also pleading not guilty Wednesday were Rhonda Gadomski, 50, of Fall River (three counts); and Antonio Dias, 64 of Fall River.

Several of the defendants were provided with English/Portuguese interpreters. Proceedings were delayed briefly while two of the defendants were provided public defenders. Like Mr. Medeiros, all were ordered neither to possess nor care for animals pending trial.

Most of the defendants are from Fall River but two are from Westport, two are from New Bedford and one is from Tiverton.

Kenneth Bellevance Jr., 44, of Westport, is scheduled to answer three charges of animal cruelty on Thursday, while Antonio Medeiros, 42, of Tiverton, is also due in court that same day (one count).

Several residents of Westport and nearby towns were in court both Tuesday and Wednesday — one said he was pleased to finally see someone answer to animal cruelty charges, especially since similar conditions were found on the same property six years ago — “and absolutely nothing happened” to those responsible.

Another said that no penalty the court can deliver will be a match for the suffering endured for the untold numbers of animals that wound up “in that hell hole.”

“Hundreds of animals on this farm were kept in deplorable and dangerous conditions, with inadequate food, water, or shelter, many of them suffering from severe health ailments that required them to be euthanized,” said Attorney General Maura Healey in announcing the charges in March. “As a result of our investigation, the owner of this farm and its tenants will be held responsible for the inhumane treatment of these animals.”

“This situation is unparalleled to anything I’ve seen in my 37 years as an animal law enforcement officer. The sheer number of animals in dire need of care, and the cruel and unsanitary conditions we found were deplorable. It took an all-out effort of state and local officials along with multiple humane organizations to get all of those animals out of that horrible situation,” said Lt. Alan Borgal, Animal Rescue League of Boston.