Traditional Vendors Acquitted Of Most Serious Charges

BALTIMORE (AP) -- A Baltimore district judge has acquitted six traditional vendors who sell fruit from horse-drawn carriages of the most serious charges against them following an inspection at a horse stable last year.

The Baltimore Sun (http://bsun.md/1XRjB23 ) reports that Judge Nicole Pastore-Klein acquitted the men on abuse and neglect charges on Friday. Five of the defendants still face charges relating to the condition of the stalls and are expected to go to trial next month.

In January 2015, Animal Control seized 14 horses on Tuesday from a stable used by arabbers, merchants who peddle produce from horse-drawn carts in a generations-old Baltimore tradition.

Assistant Public Defender Jeffrey Gilleran said his client, 35-year-old stable hand Deon Dorsey, provides a service to the city and is being charged with violating city codes he described as "draconian."
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Information from: The Baltimore Sun, http://www.baltimoresun.com

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