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2 plead guilty in animal-cruelty case
By Elise Franco
CANFIELD
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Betsy Spin
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Brian Spin
Brian and Betsy Spin each pleaded guilty to six charges of animal cruelty and two charges of child endangering.
The couple entered their pleas Wednesday before Judge Scott Hunter of Mahoning County Area Court here.
They were arrested Oct. 27 after city police found them living in deplorable conditions inside 535 Brookpark Drive with their two small children and at least a dozen dogs and cats.
Canfield Detective Brian McGivern said that when police entered the house in October, it was filled with garbage, animal and human waste and mold.
Nick Modarelli, an assistant county prosecutor, said Brian Spin, 38, will serve a 30-day sentence in the county jail. Betsy Spin, 32, will serve 75 hours of community service, which Modarelli said should take about one year to complete.
He said Betsy Spin was given a lighter sentence because of some personal issues and the fact that she commutes each weekend to work in Chicago.
“She has other issues that aren’t conducive to jail time,” Modarelli said, without elaborating.
He said they’ll both be on probation for one year, and they have to pay $100 on each count, about $800 total, and $1,000 in restitution to the Canfield Police Department.
The $1,000 restitution was ordered because conditions inside the home were so bad that detectives and safety personnel investigating the case had to dispose of all the clothing they were wearing, Modarelli said.
Modarelli said the prosecutor’s office is satisfied with the outcome of the case.
The Spins’ attorneys, Ross Smith and John Dixon, who practice out of Youngstown, declined to comment.
“There’s not really anything more to say,” Dixon said outside the courthouse Wednesday.
Modarelli said the Spins’ sons, who were 2 and 7 at the time of the arrests, are in the custody of Brian Spin’s parents, who live in Mahoning County.
City Manager Joe Warino previously said the city plans to eventually tear down the house and place a lien on the property to recoup the cost.