Bail was reduced for a Bedford couple currently jailed on $1 million bail each for allegedly torturing and failing to provide care for nearly 100 animals — mostly dogs — who were kept in cages stacked floor to ceiling on their Business Route 220 home.
Renee Piper, 62, and Nyal Barton Piper, 81, will each have to post $250,000 straight bail to gain release from the Bedford County Correctional Facility, where they have been housed since their arraignment on March 1, when bail was set by District Magistrate Kevin Diehl. The Pipers each waived their right to a preliminary hearing and the charges are bound over to County Court.
Several representatives from the Bedford County Humane Society were in attendance, with posters of some of the dogs that were seized, and the conditions they were in when discovered.
After the hearing, Shelter Director Kathy Ramsey left the courtroom in tears.
“We’re disappointed,” Ramsey said. “There should be no reduction in bail.”
Diehl set several non-monetary conditions, including travel restrictions and orders not to have any pets, or be around animals. Those conditions were maintained by District Magistrate Brian Baker, who heard the motion. He restricted travel to only within Bedford County, except with permission of the probation department.
Renee Piper is represented by Attorney Shawn Cohen, while Nyal Piper, who was brought into court in a wheelchair, has retained Attorney Tom Dickey. The hearing was held jointly for the two.
Cohen said the couple were working to clean up their Business Route 220 home after police raided the residence on Dec. 31 and removed 90 dogs, several cats, and a turtle.
The house has been deemed unlivable by code enforcement officers due to the conditions that resulted from the alleged hoarding behavior. Their attempts to hire contractors to come in to fix the damage have been thwarted by the fact that both individuals are still incarcerated.
Cohen also told the court that his client’s mother was 91 and was nearly blind, and relied on her daughter for support, “doing the things a daughter usually does for a mother.”
Cohen and Dickey both referenced their clients’ tenure in the armed forces (Nyal Piper was a Navy veteran before taking employment with the Transportation Safety Administration), and the federal government (Renee Piper was employed in the ethics department of the FBI before returning to work as a private attorney).
Cohen said, given the number of animals involved in the case, there will be a lot of preparation for the defense, which the Pipers are better able to assist with if released.
Cohen told the court that bail was supposed to be solely for the purpose of securing an appearance in court.
“Bail is not to be used for the purpose of penalizing defendants,” he told Baker.
He also questioned the nature of the crimes — both individuals are charged with 404 felony and misdemeanor crimes, especially the torture element.
“These charges, we believe, are more neglectful than violent.”
Dickey echoed Cohen’s complaints against what they deemed excessive bail.
“This $1 million is crazy. I think it’s heinous, I think it’s punitive,” Dickey said. “I think this bail is a feel good thing that succumbs to the public outcry.”
District Attorney Ashlan Clark said she believed the high bail was warranted.
“I don’t have large concerns about flights,” Clark told the court. “Our concern is with the protection of the community and the victims,” in this case the animals.
Baker questioned the value of the home, and where the Pipers would live.
“I don’t feel comfortable with unsecured bail,” Dickey said, before lowering the amount.
Dickey and Cohen said they did not know when, or if, their clients would be able to gain release.
