Friday, January 4, 2013
Reston Zoo director Meghan Mogensen, accused of drowning a wallaby, avoids second trial by entering guilty plea in Fairfax County General District Court.
Meghan Mogensen, the Reston Zoo director who in September was found guilty in Fairfax County General District Court of animal cruelty and drug possession, has pleaded guilty to the charges, the Virginia State Attorney General's Office says. Mogensen, 27, was supposed to begin the appeal of her 30-day sentence Feb. 13 in county Circuit Court. Instead, as part of a deal with prosecutors, she pleaded guilty on Friday to the the animal cruelty charges, the Washington Post reports. In the deal, the charge for possession of an animal euthanasia drug without a license was dropped. Mogensen's 30-day sentence has been upheld and she is barred from making decisions about the care or euthanasia of animals if she serves as an animal caretaker or …
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Fairfax County Circuit Court hearing for Meghan Mogensen continued until February
- POLICE & FIRE
- Karen Goff
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Thursday, November 15, 2012
The Fairfax County Circuit Court hearing for the Reston Zoo director charged with animal cruelty and drug possession has been postponed until Feb. 19. Meghan Mogensen was found guilty on both charges in county General District Court in September. Mogensen, who is not serving time pending the appeal, was scheduled to appear in Circuit Court on Thursday. Because Mogensen and her attorney Caleb Kershner are appealing the verdict, the case now moves to Circuit Court. The charges stem from an incident in January, in which an injured wallaby at the petting zoo was euthanized. Mogensen maintains she humanely put the animal down with a lethal injection. However, a disgruntled zoo employee called authorities after she says Mogensen, whose father is…
Monday, November 5, 2012
Meghan Mogensen, found guilty in Fairfax County General District Court in September, will have Circuit Court hearing Nov. 15.
Meghan Mogensen, the Reston Zoo director found guilty of animal cruelty and possessing a controlled substance in a Fairfax County General District Court bench trial in September, will return to court later this month. Because Mogensen and her attorney Caleb Kershner are appealing the verdict, Mogensen will have a new trial at 10 a.m. Nov. 15 in Fairfax County Circuit Court. Mogensen was charged with the misdemeanors earlier this year after a former employee at the zoo said Mogensen inhumanely euthanized an injured wallaby in January. The employee said Mogensen put the wallaby, named Parmesan, to death by drowning it in a bucket of water. Mogensen said she humanely euthanized the wallaby by lethal injection. An investigation found no …
Monday, October 1, 2012
Reston Zoo director Meghan Mogensen was found guilty of cruelty to animals and possession of a controlled substance in death of a wallaby last winter. Will you still visit the Reston Zoo?
Meghan Mogensen, the director of the Reston Zoo, was found guilty by a Fairfax County General District Court judge late on Friday for her role in the death of an injured Parma wallaby last January. Judge Ian O'Flaherty sentenced Mogensen to more than $1,200 in fines and 30 days in jail. Her attorney says he will appeal the ruling. Mogensen told investigators she injected the animal to euthanize him because he was suffering. A former employee said Mogensen drowned the animal in a bucket and threw his body in a dumpster. The employee, Ashley Rood, then called the authorities. Read the details of Friday's bench trial here. Friday's testimony by Rood and a series of veterinary experts offered some unsettling details of animal treatment at …
Friday, September 28, 2012
Judge rules Meghan Mogensen acted inhumanely euthanizing an injured animal last winter.
- POLICE & FIRE
- Karen Goff
-
Friday, September 28, 2012
Reston Zoo Director Meghan Mogensen - accused of inhumanely euthanizing an injured wallaby - was found guilty by a Fairfax County General District judge Friday on counts of animal cruelty and possession of a controlled substance. After a one-day bench trial, Judge Ian O'Flaherty sentenced Mogensen, 26, to a $1,000 fine and 30 days in jail on the animal cruelty charge and a $250 fine and suspension of her driver's license for six months on the drug count. Both of the charges are misdemeanors. "This was a cruel method of killing an animal," O'Flaherty said. Mogensen, who lives in Silver Spring, did not speak in her own defense nor did she comment when the judge asked if she had anything to say upon sentencing. Her attorney, Caleb Kershner, …
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Meghan Mogensen is charged with animal cruelty misdemeanor drug possession after wallaby's death.
- PUBLIC SAFETY
- Karen Goff
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Thursday, September 27, 2012
Meghan Mogensen, the director of the Reston Zoo who was charged in June with animal cruelty and possession of a controlled substance, is scheduled for a 10:45 a.m. hearing in Fairfax County General District Court on Friday. Mogensen, 26, was arrested June 22 after a months-long investigation revealed suspect practices in the death of an injured wallaby at the petting zoo on the Reston-Vienna border. She was charged with animal cruelty and possession of a controlled substance, both misdemeanors. Animal Control Officers were alerted in January to a situation at the facility, at 1228 Hunter Mill Road in Vienna, after an employee complained of suspicious circumstances surrounding the death of an adult wallaby. On Jan. 26, officers opened an …
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Reston Zoo
1228 Hunter Mill Rd, Vienna, VA
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Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Reston Zoo director Meghan Mogensen will face misdemeanor charges in Fairfax County General District Court.
Meghan Mogensen, the director of the Reston Zoo who was charged last month with animal cruelty, has an Aug. 23 hearing in Fairfax County General District Court. Mogensen, 26, was arrested June 22 after a months-long investigation revealed suspect practices in the death of an injured wallaby at the petting zoo on the Reston-Vienna border. She was charged with animal cruelty and possession of a controlled substance, both misdemeanors. Animal Control Officers were alerted in January to a situation at the facility, at 1228 Hunter Mill Road in Vienna, after an employee complained of suspicious circumstances surrounding the death of an adult wallaby. On Jan. 26, officers opened an investigation relating to allegations of improper treatment of …
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Reston Zoo
1228 Hunter Mill Rd, Vienna, VA
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Tuesday, June 26, 2012
February zoo inspection yielded several additional problems, including frostbite.
The suspicious death of an injured wallaby is just one of several issues the U.S. Department of Agriculture found at the Reston Zoo this year, WUSA9 reports. Zoo director Meghan Mogensen, 26, was charged with animal cruelty last week after a months-long investigation after a then-employee protested the animal's alleged drowning. WUSA9 obtained a USDA February 2012 inspection report that identified euthanasia, frostbite, and an injured spider monkey left in pain as problems at the zoo. The USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service report cited the Reston Zoo with six violations, including cages that exposed a spider monkey to such cold temperatures the "hands and feet of the animal became frostbitten." Inspectors also cited the zoo…
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Reston Zoo
1228 Hunter Mill Rd, Vienna, VA
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Monday, June 25, 2012
Former worker told Fairfax County Animal Control that director "previously drowned other animals"
It was business as usual at the Reston Zoo on Monday, the day after Fairfax County Police announced the arrest of zoo director Meghan Mogensen. Groups of parents and preschoolers strolled the grounds, hoping to feed animals by hand and visit the petting barn. Mogensen, of Silver Spring, MD, was at work at the zoo Monday, but she declined comment. On Friday, she was charged with a count of animal cruelty and possession of a controlled substance in relation to the death of a wallaby on the premises last winter. Mogensen is not registered as a veterinarian with the Virginia Board of Veterinary Medicine. The zoo's owner, Eric Mogensen, Meghan's father, did not return phone calls. Eric Mogensen also owns the Virginia Safari Park in Natural …
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Reston Zoo
1228 Hunter Mill Rd, Vienna, VA
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Sunday, June 24, 2012
Facility head charged with cruelty to an animal and improper possession of a controlled substance after animal found dead last winter.
Fairfax County Police have charged the director of the Reston Zoo with animal cruelty and improper possession of a controlled substance after an investigation into a wallaby's death at the zoo. Meghan Mogensen, 26, of Silver Spring, MD, was arrested on Friday, police said. The investigation into the wallaby's death had been ongoing since February. Animal Control Officers were alerted in January to a situation at the facility, at 1228 Hunter Mill Road in Vienna, after an employee complained of suspicious circumstances surrounding the death of an adult wallaby. On Jan. 26, officers opened an investigation relating to allegations of improper treatment of injured animals and improper use of euthanasia drugs. A search warrant was executed on …
Daniel
9:16 pm on Sunday, October 7, 2012
Its a misdemeanor. I doubt anything is over, its the same as a speeding ticket. Edith, no doubt you have received one yourself? Common misdemeanors include, shoplifting, driving under the influence, writing bad checks, domestic assault, driving with a suspended license, reckless driving...etc. Imagine if everyone who had ever done those things couldn't go into law enforcement...there would be no … more ›