Eleven charges have been laid against a third man accused of cruelty to stolen sheep by packing them so tightly into the back seat and boot of a car that two suffocated.
John Richard Kaka, 22, joined two of his co-accused, Jonathan David Dunick and Desi James Cook, both 23, in the dock in Hastings District Court today.
Kaka is facing eight charges of illegally entering paddocks and three of cruelty to 14 sheep that the men tied up and packed into a Mazda 626 on May 31.
The cruelty charges carry maximum penalties of six months in jail and/or fines of $25,000.
Entering the paddocks could earn the trio up to 10 years in jail.
Two of the hog-tied sheep they put in their car were dead by the time police stopped it in Flaxmere, a suburb of Hastings, where the animals were allegedly destined for an illegal abattoir.
Kaka ran from the scene with a fourth alleged offender before being caught up with by police. The fourth offender is a 16-year-old youth who is being processed in the Youth Court and cannot be named.
Kaka, Cook and Dunick were remanded on bail for another court appearance on August 4.
