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Unexpected twist in Rensselaer horse killing case

An unexpected twist has occurred in the case of a brutal horse killing in Rensselaer County. The man arrested and charged with the crime, 26-year-old Michael Lohnes, was set to accept a plea deal with prosecutors, but has now suddenly changed his mind.

Lohnes is accused of stabbing a show horse named Skye some 20 times on Hoosick farm last December.

Wednesday was supposed to be a routine plea agreement with prosecutors. Lohnes would plead guilty to a felony animal cruelty and robbery charges, spend up to five years in prison and pay $2,500 in restitution.

However, in the middle of questioning with the judge, he took a 15 minute break to talk with his lawyer and decided to not go through with it after all. Why Lohnes switched is unkown as his lawyer would not talk about an ongoing case. Prosecutors say while it is unusual, it's not unheard of.

Skye's owner Dawn Feathers says this new delay makes a hard case even tougher.

"He took it out on an innocent animal and he was going to make sure she died before she left that barn. He made sure she had no avenue of escape, and he succeeded," Feathers said.

This case has created a lot of attention because of "Buster's Law", which makes it a felony to kill a companion animal. Under the law, "companion animals" are defined as a cat or dog. Still, Rensselaer County District Attorney Rich McNally believes there are loopholes and other case laws that would allow Lohnes to be convicted on felony animal cruelty charges.

In light of this case, many are calling to change the law to include other animals as companions. That includes the case surrounding horse owner Ernie Paragallo, who had over 170 starved and neglected horses on his Greene County farm. Currently, Paragallo only faces misdemeanor counts relating to his horses.

The case of Lohnes will now head on to the next chapter. Prosecutors say they plan to present the case to the grand jury on Tuesday, and NEWS10 has been told an indictment could be handed up by Friday of next week.