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And what's going on out there? Um I'm out here with Sonia Adams and we need a deputy to come out here and make a report of animal cruelty. Okay. The person on The person on scene is refusing to cooperate and give her ID. Okay. And we're removing the dog from the property. Um Corporal Smith just called it in animal cruelty. We need a unit over here. The person on scene is refusing to identify herself in an animal cruelty case. Um Yeah, and we've already got the dogs and escalating. Hello. Hello. Uh this lady is standing on the street over here. She can go to jail. Okay, we just pulled this dog from over here. The husband and Brandon Johnson he already been convicted and charged with animal cruelty in the past. His probation time has ended. So we just picked up this dog over here. Same situation, cruelty. Dog looks like tethered on a chain, no shelter, no water. No water over there. >> asked her for her ID. She refused to give me any ID. So she can go to jail for it. What's your ID or you going to be charged with cruelty to animals? Huh? Cruelty to what? Cruelty to animals. Because I won't give them my ID I'm being charged with cruelty to animals. >> Oh he's getting charged too. But you're here, you're getting charged also. It's not my dog. This is his dog. What's your What's your address then? I just told you my address and y'all gave it to the police. How you see the dog when it's IN THE BACK YARD? IT'S IN THE CAR RIGHT HERE. DO YOU Do you stay here? Yeah, I stay here but it's not my dog. I know. Every time the dog ain't got no damn food out here no water out here. MY CHURCH THEY ALL WALK OUT. NOW I AIN'T DOING DON'T TOUCH MY DON'T YOU TOUCH THAT DAMN DOG. What's your name? COME TO HERE BEATING ON MY DAMN DOG. WHAT the hell is that? >> Shanterica. Shanterica what? Johnson. Shanterica Johnson. Okay. Are you going to charge her or Yeah, she She and her husband are getting charged. At this time Shanterica Johnson I'm going to detain you. For what? For She's going to charge you for the dog. For cruelty to animals. This is his dog. WHY Y'ALL CAN'T CHARGE HIM FOR the dog? I'm not No. >> This is animal control. So do you want more charges or you want to go on ahead and just go on down with these charges here? Go on down with charges. Cruelty to Why you looking at me? So what we going to do? She won't get the phone. I don't They already don't say what they going to do. So me. I'm all right. I'm 10-4. Okay, well well at this I don't have anything. Animal control has your dogs. I don't have your dogs. Animal control has your dogs. Listen, at this point What's your name? Brandon Johnson. She's talking to him. John At at this point it's got it's you going to have to deal with the courts and animal control. It's out of my hands. Mhm. Mhm. Mhm. Well they already got the dog. Mhm. All right. Well listen you going to have warrants out on you. So you can you can turn yourself in or they going to come pick you up. At this time she's going to go She's I'm not going. I'm going home. You Listen to me Johnson. You going to go willingly or unwillingly. Either way you They ain't trying to lock ME UP FOR THE DAMN DOG. >> I'm not going nowhere with my children in the house. You got somebody to come get them? No I ain't got nobody to come get my children. Do you got somebody cuz either way you got TO GO WHY I GOT to go? Ask them. They said you got to go. Okay. She right here. LISTEN TO ME MS. JOHNSON. MS. JOHNSON. I can't explain to you why. Will you listen to me? Are you going to listen to me? I'm listening. I ain't got to Look at her to listen. I'm just saying you have to acknowledge the fact that you were listening. >> Right. Okay. So in Georgia animals are considered property. So anybody over the age of 18 that resides in the home is legally responsible for the animal which is why when we go to cruelty cases every person over the age of 18 is charged because everybody over the age of 18 is responsible. And this is his second offense. So his is of a high and aggravated nature. This is your first offense so it's just a misdemeanor. But his is going to be a high aggravated nature. So we're going to take warrants out for him. We just got the dog. It doesn't matter ma'am. Once you take intentional custody of the animal when did you get it? Maybe like two or three weeks ago. And it's been like that ever since. We have photos of it from days ago because you can see it on the street. I have photos of it from several days ago. And we thought okay well maybe it was just a one-time thing. Maybe it stays inside and they put it outside for 5 minutes and we drove by. The animal has been in the same condition outside, no shelter. That's against the law. It It I don't make the rules lady. It's state law. If an animal is outside it has to have access to shelter and water. There is no water over there for the animal. And because this is like the fourth time we've dealt with Brandon Johnson, he knows better. He knows what the law is. He's been locked up for it. No, not locked up. I don't know if he went to jail or not. But he went to court for it. He went to court for it. He was on probation for it. He knows better. I came to y'all's house December the 9th of 2019. That was the first time I've ever made contact with y'all. I brought y'all food. I dewormed your dog. I gave your dog shots. I brought you a dog house. Ain't none of them dogs mine. I don't have no damn dogs. Listen to me. It's okay. What's your point? That That That is the point. That's the point. So So So you don't you don't want to hear what they're saying. Do you have someone to get your kids? I'm not listening to what they're saying. What they're saying is you going to have to go to jail for this misdemeanor. Ain't no if, ands, or buts about it. Now what I'm trying to do is see if you got somebody that can come get your kids so I don't have to call D-FACS for them. Cuz either way you got to go. What? She said either way I got to go. You going to have to go. You going to get a bond. You bond out. Do you have somebody to come get your kids? >> is the oldest child? He 9. Okay. When is Brandon When can Brandon come home to watch them? >> he going to come tonight. You going to call again. They going to lock me up again. Okay. Listen to me. Listen. They called and charged him with the damn dog. >> Ms. Johnson. Ms. Johnson. If Is he on the way? Ms. Johnson. >> He said he he He at work. >> Calm down. You keep talking. I'm trying to explain to you. He at work. I just said he was on the way. Okay. If he's on the way, he can go to >> He got to get the Got to get them to take them to the shop. Take him to drive the car back over here. How long is it going to be before he gets here? >> know. Listen to me. I know you're upset but I'm trying to resolve this for you. If he's going to be here within the next can get here soon, then he can go to jail since it's his second offense and you can stay here with your kids and I will write you a ticket for misdemeanor cuz you don't you don't have to technically go to jail for cruelty. Okay? But because we've dealt with this so many times, you're not you're not new to this. You're not his new wife. This This has been going on for a long time. You knew he got charged with it before. >> They said that you get locked up or I get locked up. How long you going to be here? Yeah, basically. That's basically what you just said. >> Yeah. That's why I I turned around and said No, yeah. That's why I said yeah. He said he 10 minutes away. And she can explain to you better. Turn it that Turn the camera that way. What's up? He want to know why he been arrested for the dog for animal cruelty. If you can't Mr. Johnson Mr. Johnson, this is not our first rodeo. If you can't look over the Okay, you can talk to the judge about it. How about that? I'm I'm not doing this. Hey, when are When are you going to be here? There's Okay. Okay, listen Listen to me. At no point have I said anything about food. I said the dog has I said water. No food and no water. I said there's no shelter and no water. It is not a state law for for You just said it wasn't no food and no water over there. I'm the one that said the dog has been skinny. When was the last time it was fed? I am not doing that. You know what? You She can go. I'm not doing this. This is All they're doing is stalling. So I'll do the stop driving and everything. I can't do an arrest warrant so that that has to be on you cuz we're not mandated. Um but everything else I'll do. You don't even have to come to court for the case. Okay. Because um the solicitor's office they know Do you know what the charge is going to be? It's I'll give you the code and everything. It's going to be one count of misdemeanor animal cruelty 16-12-4B and I'll I'll write it all down for you. >> Okay. And then basically the reason is um arrived on scene, dog is in poor shape, no shelter, no water per statute. Okay. And that's it and then I'll do everything else for you, okay? I'm trying to work with them and prevent her from going to get the ticket and he go cuz he was going regardless cuz they got kids in the house. So He said he tried to work with you and you got to write him a ticket. He just He can't He can't get a ticket cuz this is second offense. He has no choice. Either he's going to come and going to go to jail like a big man or he going to have warrants and once he get stopped he's going there regardless. You heard it. And then you got to go in and either way one of y'all going today. How many kids y'all There's three kids in the house. I don't know. 9, 7, and 4 months. Oh yeah, tell him to come on. That baby. They took it on August the 13th. So from December to August Is this recent? Oh no, that was a This was one dog. I bought him a dog house. I bought him a thing. I vetted the dog. And kept bringing him things and he got warmer and the dog kept getting worse. This is the other dog that was here on the property that was tied up to that blue four-wheeler. And I bought her a dog house. And this is his dog a few days I just like literally a week and a half later. Baby. Went from 27 lbs to 53. You got ID on you? Yes, yeah. Let me get your ID. I just don't understand. You got my dog. What you need my driver's license for? So I can have the process started booking you in. Well what I'm asking you is he I heard him over say it on speaker phone. He was like they going to process me and I should get a bond. I should be able to process and process and process right back out. I'm Brandon Tutor and I Come on. I Can I understand what's going on? Yes, I am. We got a complaint of the animal outside without shelter. Did y'all just Maybe a week and a half maybe two weeks. Brandon second offense. I understand. I understand. What I'm saying They said Brandon second offense. So Brandon knew before the dog even came on the property. Huh? So you mean to tell me you can't tell me what's going on with my child? I just said This is the second offense Brandon cruelty. >> Okay, cuz cuz she's saying no. All I want to know is what's going on with my child. What They He's being under arrest for cruelty to animals. Mhm. It's the second offense. I don't know if he was just on probation for it. Yeah, he was on the way he did everything. And all he was doing was saving a dog. His passion is dogs and cars as you see. This is what he was doing. So and his little brother going to get the dog house but he didn't get paid till 12:00 last night. This is really not fair. Now I understand you have a job to do but it's really not fair. >> Hold on, let me ask Brandon a question. Brandon Did you know how to get in touch with me? Do you know where I'm at? I called y'all. I don't know how to get in touch with you specifically. I didn't know your name. I told you I'm right around on Hazel Street. >> No no no, I called I just I called 911 one time, right? They said you call animal cruelty. I called I just called a week ago and asked for a dog house. But see that How would I know that, baby? And then I'm then I'm telling y'all y'all getting a dog freely. You know what I'm saying? I ain't even going to argue with y'all. 2820 Dispatch. I brought you a dog and I said I brought you a Right. And then y'all took my dog. What did y'all do? Right. Okay, then you said Mr. Johnson if we see you within within another dog in 12 months I didn't say that. One of y'all told me that. Y'all said I couldn't Yeah, y'all One of y'all said I couldn't be around a dog for a year. It's been two years. It's going on three years and now I'm being charged with a second offense of cruelty to animal and that doesn't make sense. Because he doesn't have shelter. Okay. And I called y'all. Okay, but true enough he don't have shelter but looking at that See it I can't run from you. Looking at truck Looking at blue car right here. And it's a 50 lb bag of Diamond dog food. That's $50 worth of damn dog food in that bag. And y'all telling me my dog ain't being took care of. You cut the water on. The water work here. The lights work here. What you want me to treat [ __ ] like he my daughter? Yeah, you know how to >> No, my daughter three months Do you get what I'm saying? I get what you saying but you know some people treat Some people treat animals as if they're their kids. Okay. I understand. He really does. People walking the street He took to his TV. But then But guess what? Nobody. So then don't don't get an animal if you ain't going to take care of it. If you want to take care of them like they run the streets then don't get them. Cuz you going to get the charge. >> Okay, but how many people you know take their dog in the house every day? It's a lot of people you know don't take a dog in the house every day. Okay, but it's dog food over there. It's a dog bowl over there. Then y'all pull up and y'all say oh if we don't get y'all if you don't get your ID man we going to lock you up. Come on man, y'all ain't got to do all that. I I know they cuz they called you right after they said but y'all ain't got to do all that though. Not only that I'm coming to y'all willingly. I came from my job. Who you know they going to turn theyself in? Come on man, that's my wife. I ain't going to let none of that happen. We're not getting to stand here and argue, okay? >> Right. Am I going to get a bond in an hour or so? >> If you if we can hurry up we'll see you in court Who are y'all calling? This your shot caller right here. Come on. So this is not for us to discuss, okay? I have my Hold on. I have my probable I I baby I don't know. Get down there and I understand, ma'am. I understand. I'm not I wasn't trying to give you a hard time. What I'm saying is cuz my wife on the phone crying, making me frustrated. I got a whole newborn in the house. That's why I said let's get it over with. I'm here. All right. Thank you. I appreciate that, man. Everyone, it's Trent Prior, Deputy Sheriff, Patrol Sergeant, and K9 Handler. So here's a case that really shows how animal cruelty laws work and why they exist. And here's the thing, if an animal's condition is observable from a public roadway or from a sidewalk and there's a neglect or cruelty element there then law enforcement would not need a warrant in order to further investigate that situation because it would fall under something called the plain view doctrine. And for cases like this there is a heavy reliance on neighbors for example that would call into law enforcement sometime anonymously to report that there is going to be cruelty or neglect of an animal. However, it would not be uncommon for law enforcement or animal control to keep tabs on somebody like this suspect because he does have a prior conviction for animal cruelty even if he is going to be off of probation. And when these officers arrived on scene they observed that dog tied to a tree via a chain. He had no water. He was shivering. He was dirty. It was extremely cold outside. He had nowhere to go. He didn't have a dog house or any other structure on that property for him to escape the inclement weather. And that's not just neglect. Under most state laws failure to provide food, water, adequate shelter that is going to fall under the animal cruelty criminal statutes. And that female suspect at the location refusing to provide her identifying information. Of course she has to by law because she is also part of that criminal investigation at that point. Like these officers stated if she is going to reside at that residence being over the age of 18 a legal adult she is also going to share some of the responsibility when it comes to the care of that animal even if she does not technically own the dog. Now these officers issued her a citation and they arrested the male half and took him to jail. And typically that's because with that prior conviction that he already has if there is another arrest for the same thing with regard to animal cruelty there's usually going to be an automatic enhancement and would come with additional harsher penalties and potential jail time. But bottom line is if you're going to own an animal or a dog you're responsible for their basic care and needs and there's no dog that should have to be left in that condition. The couple were charged with animal cruelty but remain innocent until proven guilty.

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