This is a breaking story. Please keep checking back; we expect to update this story as we learn more information.
Eugene, Ore. – An Oregon woman who has been the subject of recurring probation violations on her horse neglect conviction and was recently indicted on new felony charges, resulting in multiple outstanding warrants, has been apprehended.
According to the Lane County Sheriff’s Office, Raina McKenzie Ott, 25, was apprehended yesterday. One of the warrants stemmed from new charges not yet released in court records filed by the Linn County District Attorney. According to the jail roster, she is still in custody and was set to be arranged at 1:30 pm today.
Ott had been on the run for nearly a month, having also traveled to Idaho without permission of the court to visit an ailing family member. Ott’s travel expenses were reportedly supported through a GoFundMe account setup, which listed Ott’s father, Wade Ott, as a beneficiary. Ott then failed to attend a court hearing for two ongoing criminal cases.
According to Linn County’s Undersheriff Micah Smith, Ott had a warrant issued on April 19th concerning the theft of approximately 20 cows from the Lebanon Livestock Yard. It was not confirmed if those cattle were the same as the ones Ott allegedly neglected, as stated in the March indictment.
A grand jury indicted Ott in March on 41 criminal counts, which included a long list of felony charges for more animal neglect, theft, fraud, identity theft, and livestock violations.
The indictment came as Ott was already dealing with ongoing and repeated violations of her probation related to a previous conviction in a high-profile horse neglect case.
Ott had repeatedly skipped out on court hearings and even failed to attend alternative jail work crew service, ultimately leading to the judge later sentencing her to 45 days of jail and not allowing jail officials to allow alternative service in lieu of being in custody.
Shortly after her release from her jail sentence early last summer, Ott allegedly began defrauding a local Coastal Farm & Ranch in Eugene, which resulted in her trespass from the store (a story only reported by Equestrian Media Group).
She was later charged and failed to appear, resulting in one of the warrants she was arrested on.
On April 17th, an order was also issued after Ott failed to appear in court on a forfeiture hearing that forfeited the animals to the Greenhill Humane Society. The order states that as of the state of the hearing, Ott owed a total of $26,780 due to necessary costs of care, including veterinary.
The forfeiture order can be viewed by clicking here. Ott’s court-appointed attorney appeared, but Ott was absent as she still had multiple outstanding warrants.
The order confirms that multiple dogs later died in the weeks following their birth– including two puppies.
Questions have also been raised regarding the alleged conduct of officials with multiple livestock actions, including the Lebanon Livestock Yard’s owner, Lezlie Cowart. Cowart’s business is the same that Ott allegedly defrauded for just over $11,000 with a bad check for approximately twenty head of cattle.
According to the Linn County Sheriff’s report, Ott paid approximately $2,000 in cash and the remainder with the bad check. The reports were released to Equestrian Media Group after officials determined it would not compromise the ongoing criminal case against Ott, a surprising step of transparency often unseen.
Most law enforcement agencies refuse to release reports until after the conclusion of court cases, even if it might not always qualify for an exemption under Oregon public records law.
Equestrian Media Group is currently awaiting comment from the Lane County Sheriff’s Office on the new developments and arrest.
Ott’s two new charges include Aggravated Theft in the 1st Degree and Negotiating a Bad Check in the 2nd Degree. Booking information on the Lane County jail roster also references Linn County, but additional information was not immediately available.
According to the booking information, Ott appeared to remain in custody following her arraignment earlier today.
This is a breaking story. Please keep checking back; we expect to update this story as we learn more information.
A reader’s tip of a posting by Lane County Mugshots contributed to our awareness of this story and our breaking reporting. If you have a news tip, please email us at news@nwhorsereport.com or message us on Facebook.
