BOCA RATON, FL (Boca Post) (Copyright © 2025) — A Boca Raton man is facing multiple felony cruelty charges after detectives discovered horses in worsening physical condition on a rural property in unincorporated Boca Raton, according to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office.
The investigation began on October 28, 2025, when a complaint reported that several horses on a property in the 12200 block of 200th Street South appeared severely underweight or injured. Detectives executed search warrants the following day and located ten horses on-site, most described as thin, malnourished, or injured. Stalls inside the barns were found in filthy, unsanitary conditions, investigators said.
Eight of the ten horses were secured and transported to Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control for emergency veterinary care. Veterinarians later documented malnutrition, dehydration, dental disease, overgrown hooves, rain rot, and multiple untreated injuries, including one horse with a large maggot-infested wound requiring surgery. These findings were consistent with long-term neglect, according to the case report.
A petition filed by Palm Beach County described the seized horses in detail, including a 4–5-year-old white and brown Appaloosa stallion, a more than 20-year-old paint stallion, and additional stallions and mares ranging in age from 4 to more than 20 years old. The petition alleges that the property lacked adequate shelter, safe pasture conditions, and sufficient grazing and was contaminated with excessive feces.
Based on the investigation, detectives say they established probable cause to charge James Marinakis with five counts of Unlawful Abandonment or Confinement of an Animal (F.S.S. 828.13(2)(a)) and three counts of Aggravated Animal Cruelty (F.S.S. 828.12(2)).
Marinakis was arrested on November 21, 2025, and the case was cleared by arrest. County attorneys have also petitioned the court for an emergency hearing to determine continuing custody of the eight seized horses and to seek reimbursement for the costs of veterinary treatment and care 502025CC018018XXXAMB_3.
The current status of the remaining two unseized horses has not yet been publicly updated. Boca Post has reached out to Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control for comment and will report any additional developments, including upcoming court hearing dates.
Jail records show that Marinakis was booked by PBSO on Nov. 21, 2025, on two animal-cruelty charges — one misdemeanor for allegedly confining an animal without sufficient food or water and one felony count of aggravated animal cruelty. He was held on $6,000 total bond and released early the next morning.
