JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. (WDRB) -- Tim Stark, the owner of a controversial roadside zoo in southern Indiana, appeared in Jeffersonville on Thursday afternoon for a court appearance in an orange jumpsuit.
Stark was taken into custody earlier this month after he was charged with felony battery and intimidation. Investigators said he grabbed and threatened an Indiana deputy attorney general in March during a zoo inspection. In court, he pleaded not guilty.
Stark is also accused of removing animals from his Charlestown, Indiana, zoo last month before the state could take custody of the animals. Stark went on the run in mid-September and was arrested Oct. 8 in upstate New York. He is being held in the Clark County Jail.
In court, the prosecutor argued Stark's bond should be raised to $100,000 cash, calling him a flight-risk.
His attorney, David Mosley said Stark, "is not the monster prosecutors are presenting here." Mosley said a $100,000 bond on Stark is "frankly ridiculous." He said Stark has had no past failure to appear.
Mosley said Stark could have paid his current $5,000 bond, but that money could be much better spent on the court fight with the Indiana attorney general or PETA in the federal case by U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The judge ended up keeping his bond at $5,000 cash. But he won't be getting out of jail anytime soon. The judge said there is a motion for Stark to be transported to Indianapolis to face charges there.Â
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