Sequoyah County Trainer Sentenced For Abusing Horses

A former Sallisaw horse trainer has been found guilty of animal cruelty and is headed to prison.

KFSM, the CBS affiliate in Fort Smith says Robert Dimitt, 57, was found guilty Thursday of five counts of felony cruelty to animals. 

According to the Sequoyah County District Attorney's Office, a judge sentenced Dimitt to five years in prison, followed by 20 years probation, on the condition he will not train and be around any horses.

Dimitt abused several horses that were in his care. The horses had been starved, mutilated and burned, and their feet and hooves were cut, according to an affidavit filed in the case.

As a result, three of the horses died, according to court documents.

8/4/2015 Related Story: Deputies Arrest Sallisaw Trainer After Horses Found Dead

While deputies of the Sequoyah County Sheriff's Office investigated the matter at Dimitt's residence, they found that gasoline had been poured on a dead horse's carcass.

Court records show one of the horses was valued at $1 million.