Sunbury, PA – Two women from Massachusetts and several dozen supporters from around the country traveled to a small central Pennsylvania town for the first major hearing in a felony case stemming from their arrest last November. The ‘Northumberland 2’ – Celeste Legere and Cara Mitrano – face a litany of PA state charges after being accused of an October 18-19, 2024 break-in at the Richard H. Stahl & Sons, Inc. fur farm in which 683 mink were released from their pens and breeding records were destroyed.

Monday’s hearing saw prosecutors drop the RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) charge leveled against both activists from Massachusetts. While each still face over a dozen counts and possibly decades in prison, their attorneys and supporters appeared cautiously optimistic as the state appeared to be holding a very weak hand when forced to show its cards.

“We hope the court sees through the prosecution’s gross overcharging of defendants accused of releasing animals who, with absolute certainty, would have suffered extreme torture and unconscionable death,” said Chris Carraway, a staff attorney at the Animal Activist Legal Defense Project, which represents defendant Cara Mitrano. Mitrano is also being represented by Harrisburg attorney Natalie Burston; Celeste Legere is represented by Sunbury criminal defense lawyer Jim Best.

Pennsylvania State Police and Northumberland County District Attorney Mike O’Donnell initially charged Legere and Mitrano with RICO, Ecoterrorism, Agricultural Vandalism, Criminal Mischief, Theft, Burglary, Loitering and Prowling at Nighttime, Accidents Involving Damage to Attended Vehicle or Property, Recklessly Endangering Another Person, Cruelty to Animals, Agricultural Trespassing on Posted Land, and Depositing Waste on a Highway — as well as Conspiracy counts related to the Ecoterrorism, Agricultural Vandalism and Burglary charges.

Released on bond in November after their October 19 arrest, Monday was the first chance Legere and Mitrano had to challenge the allegations against them in court.

In February, defense attorneys filed an omnibus motion for habeas corpus (‘show me the body’ in Latin) – arguing that the prosecution didn’t have enough evidence to go to trial. This meant District Attorney O’Donnell had to call several witnesses and present evidence to show how much substance there was to the case against the alleged mink liberators.

“There was very little that was clarified today,” defense attorney Carraway told Unicorn Riot. “And that’s because there’s just very little there.”

Before calling any witnesses, DA O’Donnell quietly moved to dismiss the RICO charge, one of the more serious elements in the case. At the same time O’Donnell’s office added a new count of Aggravated Animal Cruelty, arguing that the defendants were responsible for the deaths of some mink the Stahls say died after release — mink raised in fur farms are usually killed for their pelts before they turn one year old.)

Legere and Mitrano each still face one criminal count of Ecoterrorism — under the Pennsylvania state law, not the similar federal statute.) A line of questioning by defense attorneys Jim Best and Natalie Burston seemed to poke holes in this charge, as the subsection charged in this case requires that an “intent to intimidate” be proven on top of the underlying crime. The prosecution was unable to show any communication between the defendants and the victims in this case, and no graffiti, leaflets or manifestos were found at the fur farm.

[Note: ‘Ecoterrorism‘ is a relatively new concept pushed into law shortly after 9/11 by industries that harm animals and/or the environment, eager to criminalize effective anti-corporate activism after the mass protests of the 1990s. Read ‘Green Is the New Red‘ by journalist Will Potter to learn more.]

Witness Testimony: Mark and John Stahl

The first two witnesses in the case were Mark and John Stahl of the Richard H. Stahl & Sons, Inc. fur farm, which is located on PA State Route 890 just a few miles from the courthouse. The Stahl ranch is the last mink fur facility in Pennsylvania (the fur industry has seen a dramatic decline in recent years, due to lower demand, COVID-19 and opposition from animal rights and animal liberation activists.) It was founded in 1955 and currently has 7 employees with an annual revenue of $298,790, according to business directory information.

The Stahl fur farm is estimated to have 21,000 mink on site at any given time, according to testimony by Mark Stahl, and kills some thousands of mink to “harvest” their pelts every year. As per industry norms, mink are killed either by gas, electrocution, being beaten to death or having their necks snapped. Banned in 22 countries but not in the USA, fur farms confine mink — semi-solitary aquatic predators who roam miles in a day in the wild — to crowded rows of small, often unhygienic cages not much larger than the size of their body. Caged mink routinely injure themselves by fighting with each other or biting and scratching on their cages until they bleed and their teeth and claws break.

The Stahl mink ranch was listed online for sale online in December, less than two months after the break-in that set 683 mink free which Legere and Mitrano are accused of. A spokesperson for the Stahl business insisted that “the decision to list the property was not influenced by these attacks“; another animal liberation direct action successfully targeted the facility in September 2023, setting free between 6,000 and 8,000 mink; no charges have been filed in that incident. A security camera system was only installed after the 2023 raid, according to 2024 reporting by PennLive.

Footage from the fur farm’s security cameras was supposed to be shown at the evidentiary hearing on Monday, but DA O’Donnell couldn’t get the file to play. Judge Paige Rosini instead agreed to watch the video before ruling on the motion by the defense. Based on court proceedings referring to the video, it is understood to show, but not identify, two individuals entering the Stahl & Sons property, opening hundreds of mink cages and destroying breeding cards attached to most or all of the cages in the facility.

According to Mark Stahl, the destruction of “90 percent” of the fur farm’s genetic cards caused a financial loss at a scale beyond the 683 released mink, because the business relies on these records to cultivate a “herd” with more profitable pelt traits, and because a live mink has less sale value without its breeding information. He repeatedly said “the set is broken” when asked about the destroyed records – “the most value is when a whole ‘set’ – mink, cage, and card – is intact. It’s just salvage value without that.”

Mark Stahl testified that he rushed to the fur farm in the early hours of October 19 after being alerted by “our IT security guy” that an alert had gone off. Upon arriving he looked for holes in the fence, anticipating that the ranch had been breached in a similar fashion to the 2023 raid. He explained that the night of the September 2023 mink release, there had been a concert at a nearby winery with lots of cars parking on the road, and that he believed the mink liberators from that incident parked amongst concertgoers to cover their tracks.

No fence holes were found, but Stahl said he quickly noticed the ranch’s east gate was “swung wide open” and that no lock was on the gate. No lock was ever recovered from the scene. Pressed by the defense if he remembered that the gate was definitely locked before the incident, Mark Stahl admitted he didn’t remember for certain.

Mark Stahl claims that his family’s business suffered $146,000 in total damages from the direct action on October 18-19, 2024: a “primary loss” of “around $47,000” from the missing mink and destroyed genetic cards and hiring people to catch loose mink, a “secondary loss” of “$2,100” in reduced profits from “fur quality of mink that were recovered alive and harvested later” and “tertiary expenses” of “around $111,000 calculated over about 8 years” from “disruption to herd value” due to the destruction of so many genetic cards and from some minks’ medical/breeding status being contaminated while roaming free. Asked by Cara Mitrano’s attorney Natalie Burston how he arrived at this figure, he said “from experience.”

Mark Stahl told Celeste Legere’s attorney Jim Best that he made an insurance claim to Farmers Mutual but hadn’t yet collected — “we’re still in negotiations” — and said the Stahls were demanding an insurance payout of “$160,000 for both instances” — the other being the September 2023 mink release, which Legere and Mitrano are not charged in.

“There is quite a bit of legal protection [for animal industry businesses targeted by activists] but enforcement of those laws and correct prosecution has not seemed to have happened lately.”

Mark Stahl towards the end of his testimony at the July 21, 2025 evidentiary hearing

Mark Stahl’s younger brother John Stahl is the official owner of the family business. John Stahl testified that after he got a security alert on his phone around 12:45 a.m. on October 19, he and his wife April Stahl quickly drove towards the farm, but stopped on a property bordering the fur farm where they saw a Subaru parked by the road. He said he parked immediately behind the Subaru and got out to confront the driver to see why there were there, but then had to run to get back in his car because he forgot to put it in park and it was rolling away.

The Subaru then made a three-point turn in order to leave. John Stahl had testified that he parked in such a way that the Subaru would have had to either hit his car to leave or drive into a ditch. He later contradicted himself, claiming he wasn’t actually blocking the Subaru from leaving–“they could have gone around me” — before later admitting that he had deliberately maneuvered his vehicle so that the Subaru couldn’t leave the area without striking him.

Burston asked John Stahl about the collision with the Subaru, which is the basis for some of the charges in the case — Accidents Involving Damage to Attended Vehicle or Property and Recklessly Endangering Another Person. Under cross-examination he conceded that when he moved to trap the Subaru it wasn’t parked on his property and that he himself didn’t have the property owner’s permission to be there.

The Stahl couple then pursued the Subaru down surrounding roads before stopping to pick up clothes and other items they claimed were thrown out the fleeing vehicle’s windows. The Subaru was later pulled over by a local cop who arrested Celeste Legere and Cara Mitrano before handing them over to Pennsylvania State Police.

John Stahl said his F took some damage from being hit by the Subaru but remained operable afterwards. He testified under cross-examination that neither he nor his wife April were injured or sought medical treatment and that he wasn’t wearing a seat belt that night. He no longer drives the vehicle after selling or trading it at a $1,500 value, and reported the damage to authorities but never submitted an insurance claim, the court heard.

Pictures taken by April Stahl during her husband’s vigilante confrontation with the Subaru were entered into evidence. They show the driver’s side of the Subaru and a side profile of the driver, which the defense did not disagree was Celeste Legere. April Stahl was called to testify as a witness at Monday’s evidentiary hearing but ended up not taking the stand at the last minute for reasons unclear.

Mark and John Stahl also mentioned that both the October 2024 incident Legere and Mitrano are accused of and a September 2023 release of 6-8,000 mink from their farm were claimed in Animal Liberation Front (ALF) press releases. The Stahls admitted under cross-examination that they couldn’t tie the ALF or any of its websites or publications to either of the defendants, and said they only knew about the ALF after reading about it in the news.

Witness Testimony: State Troopers Cody Fischer and Jacob Hook

Two Pennsylvania State Troopers testified about evidence they collected after Legere and Mitrano’s arrest. Notably, neither mentioned or knew of any fingerprints, shoe prints, DNA or other forensic evidence collected at the Stahl’s fur farm after the incident.

State Trooper Cody Fischer briefly testified to arresting Celeste Legere and Cara Mitrano after they were pulled over by Ralpho Township Police. Fischer said that the defendants had a backpack, a purse and a map with “directions in and out of the fur farm” with them at time of arrest.

The rest of the testimony came from State Trooper Jacob Hook of the PSP Criminal Investigations Unit, who offered an ample serving of speculative opinion with a few actual hard facts mixed in. An initial affidavit by Hook — the foundation for the case — made lurid mention of so-called “anarchist propaganda” found in the Subaru, indicating a desire to criminalize the defendants’ political associations. Hook’s affidavit also made sure to mention stickers with anti-police messages on them as among the evidence collected.

When asked by defense counsel to clarify what counted as “anarchist propaganda,” Hook said he used that term to describe 4 items – 3 “online privacy… manuals” — one about using a burner phone, one about Virtual Private Networks and one about the Tor Browser).

The 4th evidence item Hook cited as “anarchist propaganda” was as a notebook with handwritten notes that seemed to be from a ‘Know Your Rights’ seminar encouraging radical activists to avoid speaking with police. Hook conceded upon cross-examination that the privacy literature was not “anarchist-specific” and that he didn’t know whose handwriting was on the notebook.

Natalie Burston: “Regarding anarchist propaganda, what’s your history of investigating anarchist groups?”

PA State Trooper Jacob Hook: “This would be my first.”

Despite DA O’Donnell dismissing the RICO charge, Hook continued to insist that an unknown criminal organization was tied to the defendants, because Legere and Mitrano had a support network that they accessed upon arrest.

Hook’s testimony repeated claims from his affidavit that jail phone calls in which the defendants were “promised” bail money actually meant that they had been paid in advance to commit the alleged acts. A portion of a recording of one of Legere’s calls from jail – that Hook referred to as proving this theory – was played in court. On the clip, Legere was heard asking friends for bail money.

Jim Best [Attorney for Celeste Legere]: “None of the [jail phone] recordings of Legere reveal any discussion of crimes or conspiracy to commit crimes?”

State Trooper Jacob Hook: “Legere said bail ‘was $150,000’ and that [she] ‘was already promised $50,000, which means that [she] was promised $50,000 bail before the crime.”

Best: “Would you agree that if someone would have promised to assist Legere in making bail, that’s not a crime?”

Hook: “Someone’s not promised bail money if they’re not gonna commit a crime.”

Trooper Hook also cited the defendants contacting people offering jail support while they were in jail – a routine part of many protest movements – as itself proof of a larger criminal enterprise because “they were talking to people who referred to themselves as jail support and in all my years in law enforcement I’ve never heard anyone described as jail support.” — Hook told the court that he’s been a State Trooper for 5 years.

Northumberland County District Attorney Mike O’Donnell: “Anything of significance that you remember from the phone calls, anything that would make you think this was an organized activity?”

Hook: “they were talking to people who referred to themselves as jail support and in my years in law enforcement I’ve never heard anyone described as jail support.

Natalie Burston [Attorney for Cara Mitrano]: “Listening to the calls, you said you believed there could have been an organization or larger group, could you identify who leads it?”

Hook: “No.”

Burston: “Could you tell if this organization or larger group was part of the jail support calls?”

Hook: “For somebody to be answering the phone as jail support, it has to be part of some larger group.”

Burston: “Did Mitrano reference any crime [on the calls]?”

Hook: “No.”

Burston: “Did she mention bail?”

Hook: “It was brought up.”

Jim Best [Attorney for Celeste Legere]: “None of the recordings of Legere reveal any discussion of crimes or conspiracy to commit crimes?”

Hook: “The clip that the DA referred to… Legere said bail ‘was $150,000’ and that [she] ‘was already promised $50,000’ which means that [she] was promised $50,000 bail before the crime.”

Best: “Would you agree that if someone would have promised to assist Legere in making bail, that’s not a crime?”

Hook: “Someone’s not promised bail money if they’re not gonna commit a crime.”

Hook also described physical evidence that he collected the day after Legere and Mitrano’s arrest. Items found in the Subaru reportedly included headlamps, plastic crowbars, walkie talkies, and a Massachusetts E-ZPass. One smart phone was recovered and analyzed – Hook told the DA “nothing came back from it, I believe their primary phones were not with them.”

The fact that the defendants were driving a borrowed car was also cited by Hook as evidence of a criminal organization – “clearly there’s some kind of network.” Hook said he did contact the owner of the Subaru but did not try to ascertain whether items found in the vehicle belonged to the vehicle’s owner or the defendants.

Hook also testified that accessing the car’s navigation computer turned up an “address of interest” – one of the collective houses in Massachusetts where the defendants have lived. Legere and Mitrano’s bond hearing in November featured DA O’Donnell demanding to know the names and political affiliations of people living at collective houses the defendants resided at, and insisted on sensationally referring to the homes with several roommates as “anarchist compounds.”

What’s Next?

After hearing from the four prosecution witnesses, the hearing quickly wrapped up after some exhibits were officially entered into evidence. The defense didn’t call any witnesses. Both sides have 30 days to file briefs and a ruling by Judge Paige Rosini on the defense’s motion is expected, roughly, sometime in the next two months. Judge Rosini’s ruling could in theory throw out the case entirely, or allow it to continue with the same list of charges or with some of the charges thrown out for lack of evidence.

“Be scared – that’s the message the prosecution wants to send,” attorney Carraway told Unicorn Riot. “They’re going to call someone who’s accused of a nonviolent act a terrorist to scare people away from activism in general. The message people should take away from this is to have tenacity and know that there is support for people going through the criminal process, and to not be scared.”

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