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Case #10101 Rating: 2.5 out of 5
Pit bulls neglected
Bradenton, FL (US)Incident Date: Monday, Nov 13, 2006
County: Manatee
Charges: Felony CTA
Disposition: Convicted
Defendant/Suspect: Dennis L. Simmons
Case Updates: 2 update(s) available
A man was arrested on Nov 13 on an animal cruelty charge after police found several emaciated dogs, some with cuts and sores, at a house in Bradenton.
The dogs, four male pit bulls and one female, were found in the 700 block of 13th Avenue East. The reported owner, Dennis L. Simmons, 25, was arrested on a felony animal cruelty charge.
"They (the dogs) appeared that they were starving and had not eaten in a long time," a Bradenton police officer wrote in a report. "The bones were easily seen through the skin."
Case UpdatesA month before police say Dennis L. Simmons beat and shot at a woman and her son, officers arrested Simmons after pulling him over while driving a car with powder and crack cocaine in it, along with 5-year-old boy in the backseat, according to Bradenton Police Department reports.
Simmons was later released on bond on the drug charges, and police say weeks later, on Nov. 11, Simmons attacked the victims in the Sheridan Place Apartments, in the 300 block of 26th Avenue West.
Police reports say the mother, 35, and her 19-year-old son went to visit a relative in the complex when Simmons confronted them. Simmons accused the teen of previously robbing him of $3,000, and punched him in the face.
Simmons and the teen continued to fight when the mother tried to pull Simmons off her son, police reports said. The mother said Simmons then turned on her, punching her in the head, before getting a gun he allegedly had hidden behind a nearby tree.
Police reports say Simmons opened fire on the pair as they ran. Neither was injured, and Simmons fled.
Several witnesses in the complex identified Simmons as the shooter, and police issued a warrant for his arrest.
On Wednesday, Simmons was arrested at the Manatee County jail on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and battery. He also faces cocaine possession charges stemming from the Oct. 24 traffic stop, according to court records.
Police reports say Simmons was driving in the 1500 block of 13th Avenue East, when an officer pulled him over for having a large crack in the vehicle's windshield.
Officers found a 5-year-old boy standing on the backseat of the car, which reportedly reeked of marijuana. Simmons admitted to police he had just smoked pot prior to the traffic stop.
In the vehicle, officers reported they found almost 20 grams of powder and crack cocaine.
In addition to the cocaine arrest in October, Simmons also faces the charges stemming from the Nov. 11 shooting, for which he was being held in the Manatee County jail Friday on $85,000 bond.
Simmons has a violent past in Manatee, serving six months in jail for violating his probation on a 2002 battery conviction. He also served 12 months in jail in 2006 for animal cruelty after Bradenton Police found dogs he owned starving with no food or water.
Also, in 2006 Simmons received probation for possession of cocaine. He has never been sentenced to state prison, according to the Florida Department of Corrections. | Source: Bradenton Herald - Jan 10, 2009
Update posted on Jan 11, 2009 - 1:12AM |
| Dennis L. Simmons pled nolo contendere to one felony count of animal cruelty on April 9, 2007. He was sentenced to 100 hours of community service work and placed on probation for 12 months. | Source: Manatee County Court Case # 41 2006 CF 004265
Update posted on May 16, 2007 - 4:36PM |
References« FL State Animal Cruelty Map
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