Title: Two Women Charged in Shocking Animal Cruelty Case in San Joaquin County
San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office arrested Jan Johnson of Clements, Calif., on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. Sheriff’s personnel with local animal control staff discovered 27 dead horses and multiple others in need of medical care during a warrant search.
STOCKTON, Calif. – Two women accused in a shocking animal cruelty case out of San Joaquin County have been charged with multiple felonies following a months-long investigation, the District Attorney and Sheriff’s offices said.
Law enforcement said dozens of horses were found dead and still more malnourished or near death after an investigation into three properties north of Stockton began last August.
Clements residents Jan Johnson and Justine Fitzhenry were arrested Wednesday. Johnson is facing over 20 felony counts of animal cruelty and three counts of being in possession of illegal firearms and being a prohibited person with a firearm. She has also been charged with 17 counts for alleged cockfighting and animal neglect.
Fitzhenry is charged with three felony counts of animal cruelty and one misdemeanor count of neglect, prosecutors said.
Johnson was first arrested on Jan. 22, after deputies uncovered what they said was a "severe" case of animal neglect when they carried out a search warrant on multiple properties in Clements and discovered 27 dead horses.
Authorities also allegedly found several malnourished horses with limited access to food and water.
In another investigation that week, deputies found 53 more dead horses on two other properties, along with a dead dog and a cow. Ninety horses were found malnourished. Several animals had to be euthanized.
Animal services officers, along with veterinarians who were at the scene, immediately began to triage and evaluate the condition of the horses that were still alive, the Sheriff’s Office said in January.
Sixteen horses were rescued and were given to the care of the nonprofit Oakdale Equine Rescue.
On Thursday, the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office said a cockfighting ring was discovered on a property in Lodi owned by Johnson.
Sheriff Patrick Withrow addressed the community on social media Thursday and said detectives wanted to do right by the animals and conduct a thorough investigation.
"I know this has been taking a long time, but we wanted to get it right," said Withrow. "Every single one of these animals that were tortured deserved our respect and our passion in investigating this."
Withrow said Johnson tried to get out of being arrested by calling herself an ambulance, but that once she was cleared at the hospital, they took her into custody.
Both women are scheduled to be arraigned on June 6. Johnson is facing up to 25 years in prison if convicted.
