FINCASTLE -- A judge has sentenced a Botetourt County horse owner who has had numerous run-ins with the law to serve a 20-day jail sentence in his home under electronic monitoring.

Jack Cassell received the sentence Friday after he was convicted of contempt in Botetourt County General District Court for illegally having a stallion on his property last month.

It is the second contempt conviction in four months for Cassell, 80, who was charged in January with 33 counts of cruelty to animals after authorities said he allowed his herd of more than 30 horses to starve.

Cassell pleaded guilty to two counts of depriving an animal of food and water and agreed to reduce his herd ^-- at 28 horses after he was charged -- down to six by Sept. 20.

In May, Cassell was found in contempt of court for allowing a stallion to breed with a mare on his property. He argued that he was in compliance because the horse had been castrated just prior to his court appearance.

Friday's conviction came after Botetourt County animal wardens confiscated a stallion on Cassell's farm Aug. 1. According to evidence presented in court Friday, Cassell had agreed to purchase the horse, named Tony the Pony, knowing that it would violate the court order. His defense was that he had planned to get the horse castrated within a week after it was on his property.

Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Jill Deegan said Cassell's pattern of behavior was to comply with the court order only after he was caught violating it.

"It's turned into a game, and it just keeps continuing," she told Judge Louis Campbell.

"I get a little frustrated because you're here time after time," Campbell told Cassell.

Rob Hagan, Cassell's attorney, described Cassell as a "cantankerous" man who was "stubborn about his love for horses." Hagan argued that his client's actions weren't willful contempt and that he truly planned to castrate the horse.

Though Deegan had asked that Cassell serve jail time, Campbell sentenced him to serve the time in his home and pay $256 for the costs for care of the horse.

Because Cassell never completed the purchase for the horse, it will be returned to its previous owner.

Cassell's 20-day sentence will begin Sept. 11. He will only be allowed out of his home to feed his horses, or for doctor's visits and other appointments approved by authorities.

Cassell currently has four mares and three geldings on his farm. He must get rid of one of the horses to get his herd down to six by the September deadline.