Animal cruelty charge remains in Auburn K9 case; other charges dismissed

Charges were dismissed Monday for the defendants in the Auburn K9 animal cruelty case. Antoine Deshaun Moore and Sean Lee Murray faced 15 felony criminal charges, including animal cruelty, theft by false pretenses, fraud, conspiracy and grand theft of a dog in relation to Auburn K9, a dog training company in Auburn. Moore was arrested April 30, 2022, for felony theft by false pretenses following an investigation conducted by the Placer County Sheriff's Office after receiving reports of neglected and abused dogs. The investigation revealed Moore and his business partner, Murray, made clients believe they were paying Auburn K9 to provide boarding and training services but were instead left in dire conditions with extreme neglect, resulting in eight dog victims allegedly sustaining injuries, disease, infection, severe behavioral problems or were never returned to their owners. Following a three-month trial that resulted in a hung jury, Judge Garen J. Horst confirmed Monday the charges of fraud, conspiracy and grand theft of a dog have been dismissed for both defendants. The charge of animal cruelty against Moore remains. "What I do today is not to minimize what happened," Horst said before his ruling. The animal cruelty charge could be retried and will depend on the plea Moore will enter at the next hearing. Horst said Moore could face two years probation. Moore will return to court Monday, March 25, at 8:30 a.m. in Department 32 of the Placer County Superior Court in Roseville.