NEWS

Hungry wayward goats cost Emmett County man $8,500

Associated Press

Petoskey — A northern Michigan man has been ordered to pay more than $8,500 in restitution for damage his hungry goats caused to a neighbor’s landscaping.

The Petoskey News-Review reports Frederick Thomas-Edward Hinkley, 55, pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge under an Emmet County animal control ordinance.

Hinkley was ordered to pay $100 in fines and costs and more than $8,500 in restitution. In exchange for his plea, other charges were dismissed.

A no contest plea isn’t an admission of guilt but is treated as such for sentencing.

Emmet County Prosecutor James Linderman says charges stemmed from three separate incidents in March and April near Hinkley’s property in Resort Township. One time, deputies reported the goats were still on scene munching away on the neighbor’s shrubs when they arrived.