Animal Cruelty Suspect's Pretrial Hearing Rescheduled

Heather Okelley, 23, the woman police said neglected her friend's dog, was in and out of court Friday after her lawyer rescheduled another pretrial hearing for September.

The last time we tried talking to Okelley, she yelled at our KFOX photographer, hit him and walked away before KFOX could ask her any questions.

As KFOX has reported, animal advocate Rebecca Rojas filed animal cruelty charges after Animal Services took custody of a dog named Sadie because she was emaciated.

Sadie was adopted by a Fort Bliss family, the Snows, from New Hope Alliance on Oct. 6. When Okelley talked to KFOX five months ago, she said she never agreed to take care of Sadie for the family. Police believe Sadie was in the care of Okelley when she was neglected.

"We're hopeful that she does get the maximum penalty, both monetary and if so jail time for what she did in committing this crime," said Rojas.

KFOX will continue covering this story and bring you the latest information when we get it.