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| Javon Pherras Stacks |
The animal abandonment and cruelty charges against Javon Stacks were dismissed and refilled by prosecutors within 24 hours last week.
Javon
Pherras Stacks, 36, owner of Exotic Zoo, a business that brings exotic animals to school and organization events, was originally charged with one felony count of abandoning/cruelty of animals and two misdemeanor counts of cruelty to animals on Nov. 5. Romulus police, following what was described as an anonymous tip, discovered about 500 animals in an Ecorse Road storefront last August. The animals, including exotic reptiles, hundreds of hedgehogs, iguanas, a peacock, a tortoise and a 16-foot python, were seized by police and the criminal charges filed by the office of Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy.
A preliminary examination and forfeiture hearing on the charges was scheduled for 9 a.m. Jan. 16 in 34th District Court in Romulus before Judge David Parrott. At 9:01 a.m., according to a statement from the office of the prosecutor, the court ordered the officer in charge to call the assistant prosecutor on the case as he was not present in the courtroom. The assistant prosecutor told the court officer that he was 15-minutes from the court and that information was relayed to the judge, according to the prosecutor's office.
At 9:21 a.m.
last Thursday, the case against Stacks was called and summarily dismissed by Parrott because the assistant prosecutor was not yet in court.
The charges were re-issued on Friday, Jan. 17, and Stacks is set to be arraigned on the same charges at 9 a.m. Jan. 22 at 34th District Court.
Stacks, of Farmington,
has an active license with the U.S.
Department of Agriculture to exhibit animals and claims to have had the license for 10 years.
He has denied any mistreatment of the animals and claimed that the animals discovered by Romulus police in the Ecorse Road location were properly cared for.
He reportedly filed a lawsuit against the Romulus police in the seizure of the
animals but the disposition of that matter was unknown at press time.
