ladog

On the morning of May 16, officers from the Beauregard Parish Sheriff's Office were called to the Pine Ridge Baptist Church. A stained window of the church had been shattered, and the remains of a mutilated dog were found inside. Officers determined that the dog had been tied to a vehicle, dragged down the road and then cut loose
and thrown through the church window.

According to court records, the evening of May 15 began when men (men?) captured two dogs on a street inside the city limits. The dogs were put in the back seat of the vehicle. While the men were stopped, one of the dogs escaped, and they were not able to catch it. They put the remaining dog in the trunk of the car and drove out of town. Once the dog was removed from the trunk, a rope was tied around its neck with one end tied to the car. The men got back into the car and drove accelerating to speeds in excess of 80 miles per hour. Upon sighting a church, they stopped the car and removed the dog's body, which was thrown through a window on the side of the church. The men then drove away, leaving the dog and the damage to the church to be discovered later by church members.

In June, following a series of called-in tips, the men were arrested, and each was charged with willful and unlawful aggravated cruelty animals and intentional damages to property. The following were arrested at their residences on June 1, 2001.

Brian G. Lee, 19
Lot 7
411 Tilley St.

Joseph E. Maine, 20
766 Green Road

Jeromie McCann, 18
119 East Port St.
Apt. A

The same day, Nicholas I. DeLeon, 18, of 810 Hickory St, was arrested at the sheriff's office. Reports received in June from Chief Deputy Robert McCullough of BPSO and recent records from the clerk of court office reveal that the men stated that, on the night in question, they were just, "kids being kids" and "just having fun". They are scheduled to go to trial on October 15th.

YOU CAN HELP

Please contact District Attorney Richard Morton. Thank him for prosecuting them and ask that he seek the harshest penalty against them allowable under the law.

Richard Morton
Office of the District Attorney
P.O. Box 99
DeRidder, LA 70634
Phone: (337) 463-5578
Fax: (337) 462-6925

Also, Please contact Judge Herman Stewart and ask that he give them the maximum sentence and prohibit them from ever "owning" animals.

The Honorable Judge Herman Stewart
36 Judicial District Court
P.O. Box 1148
DeRidder, LA 70634
Phone: (337) 463-7993 ext. 13
Fax: (337) 463-9244

To: [email protected]
Date: Friday, August 24, 2001 9:51 AM
Re:       Defendants Brian G. Lee, Joseph E. Maine, Jeromie McCann, Nicholas I. DeLeon
Trial Date:    10/15/01
Charge:   aggravated cruelty to animals, intentional damages to property

     These sadistic little cowards need the harshest sentence allowable under Louisiana law, which I hope is felony status. The suffering endured by the dog being dragged to his death is deserving of more punishment than any courtroom could ever discharge.

     They must not ever get the chance to abuse another animal. So they claim that on the night in question, they were just, "kids being kids," and just having fun". Well, so were Jeffrey Dahmer, Son of Sam, the Boston Strangler, Luke Woodham and a host of other killers. And they didn't stop with animal victims, either.

     Please do not allow this incident to be trivialized because the victims were animals - this time. It is truly a horrible case which must not be allowed to repeat because the offenders get away with it or Beauregard Parrish will surely be in danger of having more of the same, possibly with a human victim..

                              Sincerely,

                              Lynn Walker

Thursday (10/18), a Louisiana jury convicted Jeromie McCann of DeRidder, La., of aggravated cruelty to animals and other charges after he abducted a stray dog, tied him to the bumper of a car, and dragged him to death. McCann and three other cohorts then threw the dog's body through a church window to be discovered later that morning by church members. Following the verdict, McCann, the only one of the four men who pled "not guilty" to the charges, was remanded to Beauregard County Jail, where he awaits sentencing.

Please be sure to send polite letters to the judge asking for the maximum possible sentence---ten years' imprisonment and a $5,000 fine---for Mr. McCann. Remind the judge that animal cruelty of this magnitude is a clear warning sign of a violent, disturbed personality.

P.O. Box 99
DeRidder, LA 70634

October 30, 2001

I want to respond to your letter of August 24, 2001, concerning our disgraceful dog dragging case. As you will no doubt recall, four young men grabbed a dog, took it out to a rural area of our parish, tied it to the rear of their car and dragged it until quite dead. They then drove to a country church and threw the remains of the dog through the church window into the sanctuary. They laughed and joked about their deeds that early morning, and at least two of them bragged about their acts in the following days. In fact, this is what led to their apprehension.

In the days leading up to their jury trial on October 15, two of the perpetrators, Joe Maine, the driver of the car, and Brian Lee, who sat in the back seat, pleaded guilty to aggravated cruelty to animals and criminal conspiracy to commit aggravated cruelty. Since they did not throw the dog through the window, the criminal damage to property charge was dismissed. No deal was made on their sentence and they are awaiting sentencing at this time. They could receive up to fifteen (15) years in prison for these two crimes. When trial began on the 15th, the remaining defendants, Nick Deleon and Jeromie McCann (who actually threw the dog) announced ready for trial and a jury was selected. However, early Tuesday morning, Deleon agreed to plead guilty to a lesser charge of accessory after the fact to the charge of aggravated cruelty to animals. He also agreed, as did Maine and Lee, to testify truthfully against McCann. The lesser charge was accepted because Deleon was the least culpable of the four perpetrators, and he can still get up to five years in prison for this felony offense. No deal was made on his sentence either; that is left up to the court. I expect sentencing of Maine, Lee, and Deleon to be sometime in November.

McCann still maintained his not guilty plea and the case was tried. Justice prevailed and the jury found him guilty of all three charges of aggravated cruelty, conspiracy to commit aggravated cruelty, and criminal damage to property. Because he had a prior burglary conviction, I charged McCann as an habitual offender and a hearing is set on that charge on December 3. As an habitual offender, McCann will get a minimum of five years in prison and up to a maximum of 34 years. Again, his sentence is to be determined by our judge, who I believe is probably pretty incensed by these despicable acts

It was very interesting that I received letters from all over the country and even a few from outside the U.S. All urged me to prosecute these men to the maximum extent allowed by law, and I believe we have done so. I certainly agree there is strong evidence of a link between the abuse of animals and the abuse of humans. I can only hope our actions in this case can turn these defendants around and others like them who may think it�s fun to torture and kill animals. I thank you and all the others for writing and expressing your concern and interest in this case. I would remind each of you that we have many more cases of person-on-person crimes than we do animal cruelty crimes, and everyone should remain vigilant about their interest in human cruelty cases as well. I urge everyone to write letters to prosecutors and judges when cases of child and/or spouse abuse/cruelty cases are reported. Each of you made an impact upon my perception of this case and you can do so in other cases. Please do not reserve your interest solely to the protection of animals.

Thank you for your involvement in this case, and for letting me know how you feel. If this information came to you through an internet website or radio talkshow, please provide this update to that media.

Sincerely,

RICHARD A. MORTON
Assistant District Attorney

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The DeRidder Daily News (12/18/01) reports that a man who participated in the dragging death of a dog last May has been sentenced to 10 years of hard labor in Louisiana Department of Corrections, without the benefit of parole. Jeromie L. McCann plead innocent to three felony charges of aggravated cruelty to animals, conspiracy to commit aggravated cruelty to animals, and simple criminal damage of $500 or more to property, after he and three other men tied a dog to the bumper of a car and dragged him to death, before throwing his mutilated body through a church window. During sentencing, Judge H.I. "Buddy" Stewart pronounced, "sadistic acts such as this will not be tolerated by our society. . . you are a menace to the public and you will be treated accordingly." Judge Stewart also referred to the more than 500 letters he had received from concerned citizens all over the country, who urged him to take the case seriously.