Third man charged in panther baiting case

FORT MYERS, FL (AP) -- A third man has been charged in an animal cruelty case involving a goat that was allegedly used to bait a Florida panther.

Prosecutors yesterday said that 61-year-old Jan Jacobson was charged with conspiracy to commit animal cruelty. Previously charged were 44-year-old Jack Shealy and 58-year-old Richard Scholle. All are of Ochopee.

In June, the three allegedly used a goat as bait to capture on video a Florida panther that had been raiding their petting zoo livestock. The goat was mauled by the panther June 16.

State wildlife officers captured the panther and it needed medical attention and was sent to White Oak Conservation Center north of Jacksonville for treatment.

Jacobson could not be reached for comment.

Shealy and Scholle have pleaded no contest to their charges and are scheduled to be sentenced January 26th in Collier County. Jacobson appears in court in a few weeks.

Each faces a sentence of up to a year in jail and a fine of as much as one thousand dollars.

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