LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The owner of a controversial zoo in Charlestown, Indiana, pleaded guilty to intimidation charges on Friday.
Tim Stark was taken into custody in October 2020 in upstate New York after he was charged with felony battery and intimidation.
Investigators said he grabbed and threatened an Indiana deputy attorney general during an inspection of Wildlife in Need in March 2020.
In Clark County Circuit Court on Friday, Stark pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of intimidation, which was reduced from a felony charge. The battery charge was dropped.
Stark was sentenced to time served. His conviction can be expunged if he stays out of trouble for three years.
Wildlife in Need was dissolved in November 2020 after a vote by its board of directors that September.
Tuesday, Stark was ordered to pay more than $730,000 in legal fees to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) after years of court battles with the organization. PETA sued Stark in 2017 for violating the Endangered Species Act when it learned the zoo owner paid a vet to declaw big cats for controversial "Tiger Baby Playtime" sessions with visitors.
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