GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A 20-year-old man has pleaded guilty to charges in connection to a barn fire in which 13 therapy horses were killed.
Payton Mellema pleaded guilty to third-degree arson and animal cruelty charges Thursday, according to the Kent County Prosecutor’s Office.
As part of the plea agreement, Mellema will serve five years of probation with no early release. For three years of the probation, he will also be housed and treated at a mental health facility. He has also been ordered not to have any contact with the victims.
Mellema set fire to The Barn Equine Learning in Lowell Township on April 8. Because the barn doors had been locked from the inside, owners said they were unable to rescue the horses.
He lived nearby and had previously volunteered at The Barn Equine Learning. Mellema has a long history of mental health and behavioral issues, according to Kent County Prosecutor’s Office.
Mellema, who is being held at the Kent County Correctional Facility, will be sentenced on Oct. 31.