A Lancaster County jury convicted a Conoy Township man of abandoning more than 20 animals following a three-day trial this month.

The jury found Eric Lee Wise Werner, 40, guilty on March 18 of 17 counts of animal cruelty.

Werner and co-defendants Jadden Moore and Mary Good were evicted from their shared home in the 100 block of Falmouth Road in September 2023, but made no attempt to inform township officials that there were animals left inside the residence.

An officer with the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) found the residence boarded up with no food or water left for the 21 animals inside. One of the animals, an adult cat, was humanely euthanized by a veterinarian hours after being recovered due to its critical condition.

Surviving animals included 15 adult cats, a kitten, three domestic rats and a snake.

A forensic examination of the remaining animals determined that they were severely underweight, dehydrated, missing eyes, jaundiced, hypothermic, infested with fleas, had decreased heart rates and had difficulty breathing.

The jury returned a guilty verdict after about two and a half of deliberation.

Judge Todd Brown, who presided over the trial, is scheduled to sentence Werner at the conclusion of a pre-sentence investigation. Werner remains free on $150,000 unsecured bail while he awaits his sentencing.

Both Good and Moore pleaded guilty to offenses related to this incident in April 2025.

Assistant District Attorney Sarah Hansen prosecuted the case.

Pennsylvania SPCA Officer Katherine Hogan filed the charges.