Miriam Sakewitz
Miriam Elaine Sakewitz (born c. 1962) is an American animal hoarder who pled no contest to misdemeanor crimes related to hoarding in Oregon. The Hillsboro Police Department seized 158 rabbits from Sakewitz in October 2006 at her home near the Hillsboro Airport. A city ordinance restricts residents to owning only four rabbits. That month Sakewitz broke into the facility and removed 130 rabbits. Police found the remaining rabbits on a farm near Chehalis, Washington. She had been reported to police by a motel clerk who Google searched Sakewitz after she had discussed her rabbits with the clerk. The rabbits were to be put up for adoption, but Sakewitz fought that in the Oregon Supreme Court as she had yet to be convicted.
In February 2007, Sakewitz pleaded not guilty to the charges for stealing the rabbits back. The prosecutor in the case offered a plea bargain that would avoid jail time for Sakewitz if she pled guilty, with her receiving probation instead. She said she was forced to accept the plea deal after running out of money to pay for a long legal battle. She appealed the convictions, claiming she received inadequate legal assistance from her attorney. Sakewitz forfeited the remaining animals and under Oregon law was prohibited from owning animals for five years due to the animal neglect conviction,
Parole violations
In August 2007, she was accused of a parole violation for keeping rabbits at her house, and was ordered to pay about $19,000 in restitution related to the care of the bunnies while in police custody. While heading for jail she denied being a hoarder and also said she was not mentally ill or suffered from obsessive-compulsive disorder, saying "I don't collect anything, I had these rabbits 10 years. I never neglected my rabbits." Her appeal was denied in January 2009 when the Oregon Court of Appeals affirmed her conviction. In June 2009, she was arrested again after police found her in a hotel in Tigard, Oregon, with fourteen rabbits, one of which was dead. She was released the next day due to jail overcrowding. Sakewitz was sentenced to 90 days in jail in July for this latest parole violation.
In February 2007, Sakewitz pleaded not guilty to the charges for stealing the rabbits back. The prosecutor in the case offered a plea bargain that would avoid jail time for Sakewitz if she pled guilty, with her receiving probation instead. She said she was forced to accept the plea deal after running out of money to pay for a long legal battle. She appealed the convictions, claiming she received inadequate legal assistance from her attorney. Sakewitz forfeited the remaining animals and under Oregon law was prohibited from owning animals for five years due to the animal neglect conviction,
Parole violations
In August 2007, she was accused of a parole violation for keeping rabbits at her house, and was ordered to pay about $19,000 in restitution related to the care of the bunnies while in police custody. While heading for jail she denied being a hoarder and also said she was not mentally ill or suffered from obsessive-compulsive disorder, saying "I don't collect anything, I had these rabbits 10 years. I never neglected my rabbits." Her appeal was denied in January 2009 when the Oregon Court of Appeals affirmed her conviction. In June 2009, she was arrested again after police found her in a hotel in Tigard, Oregon, with fourteen rabbits, one of which was dead. She was released the next day due to jail overcrowding. Sakewitz was sentenced to 90 days in jail in July for this latest parole violation.
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