SCOOP: Man accused of starving five dogs to death and animal cruelty
The Rutherford County Sheriff's Office said Llewellyn McKinney, 46, of Forest City, is in jail with $30,000 bond.
On February 6, deputies with the Rutherford County Road Patrol responded to the area of Seal Court in Forest City, in response to a possible animal neglect case, police just announced this evening.
“Deputies began their investigation and located two K9s that appeared to be severely malnourished and chained up,” the release said. The deputies recognized the odor of decomposition, which led them to discover five other dogs in various locations throughout the property. “These dogs were deceased and in the stages of decomposition, including one K9 that was located in a barrel. Deputies continued their investigation, locating another four cruelly malnourished K9s on the property.”
Rutherford County Animal Control, “who was notified immediately as the information came in and then updated during the investigation, arrived to assist the deputies. As a result, animal control took custody of six K9s in need of immediate aid and removed five deceased k9s.”
As a result of the investigation, deputies arrested the owner of the dogs, Llewellyn Jervon McKinney, who was charged with the following:
Five felony counts of “kill animal by starvation”
One count, cruelty to animals, a misdemeanor
McKinney received a $30,000 secured bond. I was the first to report his arrest on my Facebook page this morning. Police just released more details this evening.
Situational awareness: A scoop is an important news story that is first reported by a journalist. This goes a step beyond breaking news when no other journalists are known to be reporting on an important issue.
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