Final defendant pleads in Collierville stable case | News

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) - A fourth defendant has pleaded guilty in a horse soring case that drew national attention after undercover video was shot inside a Collierville stable.
    
According to the Chattanooga Times Free Press (http://bit.ly/MeH35J ), 56-year-old Jeff Dockery entered his plea Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Chattanooga to a reduced charge of conspiracy to show sored horses. Dockery cooperated with federal prosecutors, who obtained guilty pleas to charges of conspiring to violate the Horse Protection Act from his three co-defendants last month.
    
They are 60-year-old Collierville horse trainer Jackie McConnell, 47-year-old John Mays and 29-year-old Joseph Abernathy.
    
The case involved the intentional soring of Tennessee Walking Horses at McConnell's training stable - an illegal injuring of horses to make them step higher in horse shows.
    
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Information from: Chattanooga Times Free Press, http://www.timesfreepress.com

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