SPARTANBURG -- Environmental officers in Spartanburg County are dealing with what they call one of the worst cases that they've ever seen.
Officers said Tuesday that they found a home at 214 River Forest Drive filled with trash and more than 50 animals in horrible condition. They said that the smell is indescribable.
The homeowner, Andres Terrill, has been arrested. He faces 27 charges of cruelty to animals, along with a few other charges. Terrill has been in and out of court over the past years concerning the condition of his yard. A judge ordered him to clean it up, but officers said that he didn't, so they were sent to serve him with a warrant.
Officers said that they knew that there was a problem, but didn't know how big it was until they arrived. There were 55 animals at the home and 28 in the back yard and 27 inside. Officers also said that there was trashed piled up inside from the ground to the ceiling. So much that officers said that Terrill had to dig tunnels just to get around.
"When you stuck your head in the door, you could hear sounds, you could smell awful smell of urine and feces, a heavy ammonia smell, house just totally consumed with litter," Don Arnold with the Environmental Enforcement Department told News 4.
Officers said that the animals were covered in feces, locked in cages and their fur was matted.
"The odor bleeds from one house to the next. We can't open our windows, got rats that run up and down the fence line," neighbor Michael Head said.
In all, officers removed 34 animals from the home. They said that they can hear more inside, but can't find them because of the trash.
Terrill is facing 27 charges of animal cruelty. He has bonded out of the Spartanburg County Jail.
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