Francis Scarcella, The Daily Item, Sunbury, Pa.
SUNBURY — One felony eco-terrorism charge against an out-of-state couple accused of releasing 683 mink from a Northumberland County fur farm have been dropped.
Northumberland County President Judge Paige Rosini dropped one of the two eco-terrorism charges against engaged Massachusetts couple Christopher Legere, 25, who goes by Celeste, and co-defendant Cara Mitrano, who are both accused by state police of releasing 683 mink from a fur farm outside Sunbury in the October 2024 incident.
The Richard H. Stahl and Sons Fur Farm said mink releases in 2023 and 2024 cost the business $164,000 during testimony Monday in Northumberland County Court.
No one was charged in the 2023 incident.
“The idea that it is terrorism to free animals slated to be killed strains credulity. The court made the right call,” Chris Carraway, a staff attorney at Animal Activist Legal Defense Project at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, representing Mitrano, said in a press release Wednesday.
Rosini also tossed some additional misdemeanor charges against Mitrano and Legere including, loitering/prowling at night, accidents involving damage to attended vehicle or property.
During a hearing earlier this year, the district attorney’s office also dropped a count of a corrupt organization.
Both defendants still face multiple charges, including felony animal cruelty, that will head to trail in 2026.
Mitrano is also represented by Harrisburg attorney Natalie Burston and Legere is represented by Sunbury attorney Jim Best.
Both defendants are out on bail.