Three charged with ill treatment of animals

Three Salem area residents remained in jail yesterday, charged with ill treatment of animals.  Oconee Sheriff’s Office employed its “SWAT” team to the Little River Road home on Monday after one of the three allegedly produced a firearm and barricaded himself inside.  James Thaddeus Gaskill Jr is charged with seven counts of ill treatment while Ann Hill and William Andrew Hill are charged with 67 counts.  From the property, animal control officers seized about 80 animals – six kittens, one cat, two pigs, one goat, nine puppies, and 60 dogs.  One dog gave birth to five puppies at the shelter.