Ocala man flees sentencing for animal abuse charges

File photo: The Marion County Judicial Center is shown in Ocala, Fla. on Wednesday, August 5, 2020. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2020.

An Ocala man convicted on 42 counts of animal cruelty failed to show up for his sentencing on April 9.

Marion County Judge Timothy McCourt issued a bench warrant for the arrest of Matthew Keel, who was offered a 43-month sentence with two years of house arrest and two years of probation for his crimes against animals.

Keel was arrested in June 2024 in Ohio where he fled after authorities found 53 dogs living in squalor at his Ocala home, and deceased dogs being stored in a freezer, according to the Marion County Sherriff’s Office.

He pleaded no contest to 23 counts of aggravated animal cruelty and 19 counts of animal cruelty, according to the Marion County Clerk of Court.

Keel was the owner of the “No BS Shelter” until the dogs in his custody were rescued, and a judge ruled that Keel could no longer own animals without permission from the court.