Mukwonago horse breeder sentenced to jail for firearm possession
Mukwonago horse breeder sentenced to jail
A Town of Mukwonago horse breeder is going to jail after police found guns on her property last year. The case became more complex than that when animal rights advocates got involved.
TOWN OF MUKWONAGO, Wis. - A Town of Mukwonago horse breeder is going to jail after police found guns on her property last year.
The case became more complex than that when animal rights advocates got involved.
Ralinda Howard at her sentencing hearing
Ralinda Howard sentenced
What we know:
The 70-year-old was not expecting jail time as part of her plea. The judge reminded her that he had the final say.
Ralinda Howard was taken into custody right away to serve a three-month sentence.
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Waukesha County Circuit Court
"At the age of 70, I never thought I’d be in a court defending my actions… but here I am," Howard said in court.
Howard asked for leniency at her sentencing on Monday, June 1.
She told a Waukesha County judge she inherited 11 guns found on her property last year from her late father.
Town of Mukwonago horse breeder faces new felony charges
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"So what? You’re a convicted felon," said Judge Maxwell. "The moment you got that convicted felony you knew you weren’t supposed to possess a firearm and here you are possessing all these firearms."
Town of Mukwonago police got a search warrant last fall after at least two of Howard’s former employees came forward with animal abuse concerns.
Lisa Vega showed FOX6 videos and pictures of horse injuries and dead dogs in trash cans. Town of Mukwonago police issued citations, but no criminal animal abuse charges were ever filed.
"In the end, I’m just so grateful that we finally have some resolution," said Vega.
Howard was already a convicted felon stemming from a 2011 conviction for identity theft. She was ordered to have no animals on her property earlier in 2026 as a condition of her weapons case.
But in April, a neighbor called police after hearing dogs barking on Howard’s property.
The state didn’t ask for jail time as part of Howard’s plea deal, but the judge had other thoughts. He ordered that she be taken into custody immediately to serve three months in jail.
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"I think for me to ignore 11 counts of possession of a firearm by a felon and respond to that only with probation – I don’t think is doing justice," added Judge Maxwell.
Sentencing conditions
What we know:
Howard will serve three months in jail, straight time, followed by six months of electronic monitoring with Huber work release, in addition to five years' probation.
As part of the plea, she was also sentenced to two years in prison with two years of extended supervision, but the judge imposed and then stayed that sentence.
The judge also ordered that Howard must now get permission from her probation officer before being allowed to own or possess any animal.
The Source: FOX6 was in court for the sentencing. FOX6 has previously reported on this case with information from the criminal complaint and court records.