RALEIGH, N.C. The wife of the previous chairman of the Baptist Childrens Households of North Carolinas (BCH) board of trustees pleaded responsible to speaking threats to a neighbor, while a number of animal cruelty prices in opposition to the couple have been dismissed throughout their overall look in Wake County District Court on Thursday, March 21.
James and Agnes Goldston of Raleigh have been each arrested and charged with a few counts of animal cruelty and communicating threats in May 2023 amid allegations that the couple poisoned their neighbors three canine and despatched them threatening letters as component of an ongoing dispute.
In accordance to courtroom documents, Agnes Goldston pleaded responsible to a misdemeanor depend of communicating threats. She was put on 12 months of unsupervised probation and is required to finish 50 several hours of group service. Agnes Goldston ought to also pay back $1,000 in restitution and was ordered not to have any direct or indirect get hold of with the victims.
The animal cruelty expenses in opposition to the Goldstons were being dismissed due to the fact there was inadequate proof to demonstrate past a reasonable question that canines were deliberately poisoned as opposed to accidentally ingesting [a] toxic material, in accordance to courtroom files.
Courtroom files also said that Agnes Goldston was more liable for communicating the threats.
All prices towards James Goldston were dismissed.
At the time of the Goldstons arrest in May perhaps 2023, James Goldston was serving as the chairman of the BCHs board of trustees. In the times following news of the arrest grew to become public, James Goldston resigned from the BCHs board, but denied the allegations towards him and his spouse.
In a statement asserting his resignation that was unveiled via BCH officials at the time, James Goldston stated, My wife and I have been falsely accused of some horrible functions and I do not want this to be a distraction or hindrance to the work performed on behalf of BCH as the reality plays out within the justice program.
The Goldstons were being arrested on Might 11, 2023, and James Goldston resigned from the BCH board on May possibly 21, 2023.
The Goldstons arrest stemmed from an ongoing dispute with their neighbors, Phillip and Jessica Ridley. According to numerous media stories, the Goldstons allegedly sent letters to the Ridleys, threatening to destroy their canine if they ongoing to arrive on to the Goldstons assets.
According to arrest warrants, the Goldstons were accused of poisoning three canine belonging to the Ridleys, two of which died. The warrants also accused the Goldstons of threatening to bodily injure the Ridleys daughter via a handwritten observe.
All through the Goldstons court look on Thursday, WRAL News in Raleigh claimed that Agnes Goldstons attorney mentioned her client designed a terrible decision to converse threats, but there was no evidence to set up animal cruelty.
Ms. Goldston did not do harm to animals, her attorney said, according to WRAL.