Charges dropped for OBS director in incident involving PETA activist

A horse and its rider lay motionless on the ground after an accident at Ocala Breeders’ Sales at an April 10 show [PETA].

The State Attorney’s Office has decided to drop robbery charges against Ocala Breeders’ Sales official Tod Wojciechowski after a dispute between him and an animal rights activist at a race in April.

Wojciechowski, OBS director of sales, was arrested by the Ocala Police Department on April 12 on a charge of robbery by sudden snatching after an altercation that began when Phillip Schein, an investigator for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), was recording a horse that had been injured during an April 10 tack show at the track at OBS, according to the arrest affidavit.

Schein told authorities that Wojciechowski, whom he didn’t recognize at the time, grabbed him by the arm, took his backpack and pulled it off him. The items in the backpack were valued at about $380 total.

Wojciechowski was arrested and taken into custody on April 12 at 4:07 p.m. and released at 7:36 p.m. that same day.

The charges against Wojciechowski were dropped by Assistant State Attorney Robert Kyle Lambert on May 1.