Pender couple may get malnourished horses back

A Pender County couple charged with cruelty to animals may get their horses back.

Billy Joe Suttles and his wife Laura Louise Westbrock filed a no contest plea on animal cruelty charges in Pender County Tuesday.

Malnourished horses were seized from the couple’s farm in Hampstead last month.

The judge sentenced the couple to three years probation, and ruled that the couple can get the horses back if a veterinarian deems them fit to take care of the animals.