Shon
05-14-2004, 07:46 PM
Vance County's chief animal control officer has been placed on leave after a dog he was supposed to put down last year has turned up alive in Granville County
The female pit bull, owned then by Rowland Hill, was sentenced to death Oct. 20 by Vance County District Judge H. Weldon Lloyd after the dog attacked Old West End resident Rose Flannagan. It was not the first time the pit bull had terrorized the neighborhood.
Lloyd ordered that the "dog is to be destroyed by the Vance County Animal Shelter by most humane means."
But Chief Animal Control Officer Johnny Jones apparently didn't carry out the order, and the dog is still alive.
The resulting investigation marks a dramatic change for Jones, who has received widespread praise for cleaning up the animal shelter and upgrading the animal control program.
Vance and Granville sheriff's deputies seized a pit bull believed to be the West End terror from current owner Michael Todd Adcock on April 13.
Former District Attorney David Waters filed a motion April 21 on behalf of Adcock to arrest the judgment made in 2003.
The motion asserts that Lloyd's judgment is "void in that a criminal summons for violating a city ordinance does not provide the court with subject matter jurisdiction to order the destruction of any animal."
The motion does not deny that Adcock's dog is the condemned animal from Henderson.
The Vance County Sheriff's Office has been investigating the case for at least a month.
Sheriff's Detective Jimmy Cordell would only say that the case is still under investigation, but he expects the inquiry to be completed soon.
Vance Animal Advisory Board member Sara Coffey has provided much of the information that spearheaded the investigation.
Coffey said she notified County Manager Jerry Ayscue of the situation after her business partner, Melvin Bullock, was asked to board the pit bull at his kennel.
Coffey alleges that Jones knowingly kept the dog alive instead of having it killed as ordered.
Jones has been placed on administrative leave until the investigation is complete.
Ayscue released a statement Thursday: "In response to a request from my office, the Vance County Sheriff's Department is currently investigating the proper execution of a court order in an animal control case by the Vance County Animal Control Department. Until all related matters are resolved through the investigation and then reviewed administratively, Chief Animal Control Officer Johnny Jones has been place on administrative leave. Animal Control Officer Lamar Krider will assume Mr. Jones' duties and responsibilities in an interim capacity until further notice."
Ayscue said he could not comment further because of personnel laws.
Jones could not be reached for comment.
The female pit bull, owned then by Rowland Hill, was sentenced to death Oct. 20 by Vance County District Judge H. Weldon Lloyd after the dog attacked Old West End resident Rose Flannagan. It was not the first time the pit bull had terrorized the neighborhood.
Lloyd ordered that the "dog is to be destroyed by the Vance County Animal Shelter by most humane means."
But Chief Animal Control Officer Johnny Jones apparently didn't carry out the order, and the dog is still alive.
The resulting investigation marks a dramatic change for Jones, who has received widespread praise for cleaning up the animal shelter and upgrading the animal control program.
Vance and Granville sheriff's deputies seized a pit bull believed to be the West End terror from current owner Michael Todd Adcock on April 13.
Former District Attorney David Waters filed a motion April 21 on behalf of Adcock to arrest the judgment made in 2003.
The motion asserts that Lloyd's judgment is "void in that a criminal summons for violating a city ordinance does not provide the court with subject matter jurisdiction to order the destruction of any animal."
The motion does not deny that Adcock's dog is the condemned animal from Henderson.
The Vance County Sheriff's Office has been investigating the case for at least a month.
Sheriff's Detective Jimmy Cordell would only say that the case is still under investigation, but he expects the inquiry to be completed soon.
Vance Animal Advisory Board member Sara Coffey has provided much of the information that spearheaded the investigation.
Coffey said she notified County Manager Jerry Ayscue of the situation after her business partner, Melvin Bullock, was asked to board the pit bull at his kennel.
Coffey alleges that Jones knowingly kept the dog alive instead of having it killed as ordered.
Jones has been placed on administrative leave until the investigation is complete.
Ayscue released a statement Thursday: "In response to a request from my office, the Vance County Sheriff's Department is currently investigating the proper execution of a court order in an animal control case by the Vance County Animal Control Department. Until all related matters are resolved through the investigation and then reviewed administratively, Chief Animal Control Officer Johnny Jones has been place on administrative leave. Animal Control Officer Lamar Krider will assume Mr. Jones' duties and responsibilities in an interim capacity until further notice."
Ayscue said he could not comment further because of personnel laws.
Jones could not be reached for comment.