An Ireland woman has been indicted on 55 counts of animal cruelty by the Lewis County grand jury.

Pamela Jean Blubaugh, 48, will be arraigned in Lewis County Circuit on Friday. The charges stem from a March incident in which deputies seized nearly 70 dogs from her property and another location in the southern end of the county.

Nine dogs were put down because of illness or injury, and the remainder were taken to shelters across West Virginia. A letter to the County Commission from Weston veterinarian Dr. William Moodispaw gave commissioners a sense of how the dogs were being housed.

"It was my observation that the barn and surrounding areas where these dogs were being kept was extremely filthy, wet and horribly foul-smelling," he wrote in a March report. "There was urine and feces piled deep everywhere. No, to very little, ventilation, and the ammonia smell was very, very potent."

Moodispaw stated the dogs' hair was matted very badly, and they were covered with urine and feces. Pictures from inside the barn and house showed piles of feces covering the floor. The dogs, however, were reportedly well fed.

A letter from a Charles Town shelter to which seven of the dogs were sent stated that five of them had dental disease, three had hernias which required surgery and one dog was severely matted and had to be completely shaved.

Also indicted by the grand jury were Justin Riggs, 26, of French Creek, on charges of driving under the influence with death. He was also indicted on charges of child neglect resulting in injury and possession of a precursor to methamphetamine.

Riggs reportedly was involved in an Oct. 4, 2008, accident on West Virginia Route 4 that resulted in the death of Samantha Chidester.

Eric Metz, 39, of Weston, was indicted on charges of armed robbery, malicious wounding and conspiracy to commit robbery. Other charges in the indictment include burglary and petit larceny. He is being held in the Central Regional Jail, and is also facing another charge of conspiracy to commit murder. That case, however, was not presented to the grand jury during this term.

In addition to eight indictments that were sealed, others indicted by the grand jury include Michael Munro, 43, of Weston, on charges of domestic battery, third offense and unlawful wounding.

Larry A. Jones, 51, of Weston, was indicted on a charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Charles T. Marsh, 49, of Weston, was indicted on charges of forgery and uttering.

Carl Raymond Anderson Jr., 32, of Weston, was indicted on charges of grand larceny and conspiracy.

Jonathan Edward Ackerman, 24, of Edinboro, Pa., was indicted on a charge that he failed to properly register as a sex offender.

Patricia Ann Fast, 49, of Jane Lew, was indicted on a charge of domestic battery, third offense.

James J. Posey, 35, of Orlando, was indicted on charges of burglary and conspiracy.

Christopher L. Eakle, 27, of Clarksburg, was indicted on charges of breaking without entering, attempted grand larceny, grand larceny and conspiracy.

Patricia L. Stemple, 22, of Weston, was indicted on charges of aiding and abetting entering without breaking, aiding and abetting attempted grand larceny, aiding and abetting grand larceny and conspiracy.

April Payne, 25, of Lost Creek, was indicted on charges of entering without breaking as an accessory after the fact, attempted grand larceny as an accessory after the fact, grand larceny as an accessory after the fact and conspiracy.

Kristopher A. Speas, 27, of Weston, was indicted on charges of grand larceny and conspiracy.

Jedadiah Stump, 22, of Hacker Valley, was indicted on charges of grand larceny as an accessory before the fact and conspiracy.

Matthew C. Painter, 21, of Rock Cave, was indicted on charges of grand larceny and conspiracy.

Robin Pumphrey, 51, of Orlando, was indicted on charges of forgery and uttering.