Mercer Woman Accused of Animal Abuse Pleads Not Guilty to Contacting Witness in Case

MERCER CO., Ill. (KWQC) – A Mercer County woman is facing animal cruelty charges after she pleaded not guilty Tuesday in connection with witnesses in the case after investigators found nearly 200 dogs on her property.

Karen Plambeck, 59, of Sherrard Village, appeared in Mercer County court Tuesday morning and waived her right to a preliminary hearing. The judge set the date of the pre-election conference on December 12 at 9 o’clock

In August, Karen Plambeck was arrested after seizing 198 dogs from her home. Many were sick and emaciated from lack of access to food and water, according to court documents.

A few weeks later, Plambeck was arrested on charges of improper communication with a witness.

According to court records, Mercer’s animal control department received a complaint from a woman who said some of her collies were sold to a person in South Carolina and were supposed to be transported by Plambeck.

The collies never made it to their intended owner, and the woman was concerned about the welfare of her collies.

According to criminal information filed in the new case, Plambeck told a witness on or about Aug. 20 that if he “dropped the charges against him,” he would tell her where his missing dogs were located.

When the dogs were seized from Plambeck, they were housed at Mercer Animal Control, where they were examined by local veterinarians. Dogs cannot be admitted until they have been permanently disqualified from Plambeck. The Mercer County State’s Attorney filed the motion.

If convicted, Plambeck could spend one to three years in prison on the animal cruelty charge and two to five years on the witness tampering charge.

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