BUTTE — Powell County Sheriff Gavin Roselles confirmed an investigation into the incident involving a horse drowning in June 2024 has been completed. Sheriff Roselles says the Powell County Attorney will not be filing criminal charges in connection with the incident.
WATCH: horse drowning was 'catastrophic accident'
In a letter obtained by MTN News, Powell County Attorney Kathryn McEnery explained that the video shared on social media is insufficient evidence for the filing of criminal charges.
The investigation was spurred by a video that appears to show a man riding a struggling horse into the deep part of a river. The video quickly cuts to a group of men pulling a dead horse from the river with the use of a rope and a truck.
Reno Ward, the owner of the horse who is seen riding it in the video, told MTN News the incident was a tragic accident in which the horse panicked when it stepped into deep water.
“It’s a very catastrophic accident and it’s been misinterpreted by the whole world,” said Ward.
The heavily edited video shows people laughing as the body of the horse was being pulled from the water. Ward said this was several hours after the horse’s death and that much of the video is taken out of context.
“We weren’t laughing at a horse’s death. There wasn’t ever any footage when I came up out of the water and, I, for one, happy to be alive when that horse was coming after me pawing. For one, distraught about, like, what happened to the horse, being in disbelief of like, I just lost this valuable pet asset,” he said.
Ward claims the video was posted because of a dispute with a family and designed to ruin his reputation.
From the County Attorney letter to the Sheriff's Office:
I have reviewed the file, and concluded that the State cannot prosecute this case based on the evidence collected – and further, do not believe that additional PCSO investigation would improve the facts.
Despite your efforts, insufficient evidence exists for the filing of criminal charges for animal cruelty related to the death of a horse in June, 2024. A post on social media is not evidence. Its primary purpose is to attract attention, not to share the truth. In the court of public opinion, videos are judged based on each person’s views of what is distasteful or socially unacceptable or morally reprehensible conduct. They are also judged based on what a person thinks motivated the video’s publication. These community opinions have some value, but in general statements about what someone should have known or what they’d have done if they’d been there are not admissible in a court of law.
In a court of law, character evidence is prohibited and the standard at trial is “proof beyond a reasonable doubt.” In this case, none of the witnesses offered testimony supporting a finding of purposeful conduct or criminal negligence. Experts are going to disagree on whether the horse drowned or had a heart attack. They are going to disagree on the effect of the tie down. I foresee other problems in presenting this case to a jury where it is undisputed that the people who shared the video wanted to embarrass Reno and gain some kind of leverage on their own personal side issues.
I conclude that if there is to be a negligence claim, it is a civil one, where the standard is a preponderance of evidence. But here, the only person who might have a claim against Reno for damages would be the owner of the horse, and that is Reno himself.