Newfane animal rights activist will get a jury trial
May 7—Tracy Murphy, farm animal sanctuary operator and accused cattle thief, has rejected a plea offer that would settle the criminal case against her without possible fines or jail time.
Murphy, who is charged with petit larceny in connection with the temporary disappearance of two of her neighbor Scott Gregson's cows in July of 2022, appeared in Wheatfield town court Tuesday evening, the case against her having been transferred out of Newfane town court in late 2023 after both Newfane justices recused themselves for personal reasons.
Murphy appeared for a pre-trial proceeding, and after her legal team verified to Wheatfield justice Gary Strenkowski that she declined a plea offer from the Niagara County District Attorney's Office, the sides went about negotiating a trial date. Tentatively, a two- to three-day jury trial is scheduled for late August-early September.
Chris Carraway of the Animal Activist Legal Defense Project said the DA's office offered to let Murphy plead guilty to disorderly conduct and receive a suspended sentence. However, she would also have to state, in court, that keeping custody of the cows that wandered onto her Coomer Road, Newfane property, and fighting to keep custody of them, was wrong.
Murphy declined the plea offer because such a statement would be "dishonest," she said after court Tuesday.
Carraway waved off the required statement of wrongdoing as "incredibly unusual and a form of public humiliation," adding that such a condition normally is applied in a felony-level charge such as assault, not a misdemeanor charge like larceny.
Murphy's attorneys have claimed she did nothing wrong in asking Gregson to provide positive proof of ownership of the cows when he came to her property to reclaim them. Murphy harbored the cows for about 2-1/2 weeks, and at one point asked Gregson if she could purchase the cows at a discounted price reflecting her cost to care for them.
New York State Police arrested Murphy at her property on Aug. 2, 2022, and allowed Gregson to take back his cows.
Conviction of petit larceny carries a penalty of up to one year in jail and/or a $1,000 fine.
