Burnham woman again accused of animal cruelty

BURNHAM, Maine (WABI) - A Burnham woman charged with animal cruelty made a brief appearance before a judge Tuesday.

Alexis Ingraham, 40, was allowed to keep her camera off for the virtual appearance in a Waldo County courtroom that lasted less than 90 seconds.

Ingraham is charged with one count of cruelty to animals and another count of violating bail conditions.

Court documents reveal back in February, Burnham Animal Control removed four dogs and 10 cats, all in poor health, from Ingraham’s Pond Road property.

The affidavit goes on to say Ingraham then reportedly removed horses from her property. Nine of the horses wound up at Peace Ridge Sanctuary in Brooks in March. That’s when the non-profit contacted Animal Welfare with concerns about the condition of the animals.

According to an assessment by an assistant veterinarian for the state, the majority of the nine horses were malnourished and had overgrown and cracked hooves, among other concerns.

The official found one horse to be in need of immediate medical care with a serious infection, trauma, and frostbite of its genitals.

An agent with Animal Welfare applied for and was granted an arrest warrant for Ingraham on the cruelty charge in late March.

Ingraham was given personal recognizance bail and ordered not to have any equine, livestock, or domestic animal. But in June, the Waldo County Sheriff’s Office alleges there were multiple animals seen on the property, including three horses in 100-degree heat with no shade.

Deputies again arrested Ingraham and charged her with violating conditions of release.

Ingraham does have a criminal history. In 2011, she and her husband Brett were convicted of six counts of animal cruelty for the mistreatment of horses at what was then their farm in Clinton.

Under a plea agreement in that case, she was sentenced to 30 days in jail. The couple was ordered to pay $10,000 and were barred from owning horses for a year.

Brett Ingraham is not named in this round of allegations.

Alexis Ingraham’s next court appearance is scheduled for October.