Attorneys/Judges
| Prosecutor(s): | Kristi Valls | | Defense(s): | Harlan Mitchell | | Judge(s): | Jeanne Anderson, Jeanne Anderson |
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CONVICTED: Was justice served?
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Case #16554 Rating: 1.0 out of 5
Breeder neglect - 29 puppies seized, 40 in freezer
Elkmont, AL (US)Incident Date: Friday, Apr 2, 2010
County: Limestone
Disposition: Convicted
Case Images: 6 files available
Defendant/Suspect: Nannie Johnson
Case Updates: 1 update(s) available
A Limestone County woman is arrested after deputies find more than 40 dead dogs in her freezer and malnourished puppies in her yard.
Some of Nannie Johnson's neighbors say Johnson has always been a dog lover. They can't understand how she got in this situation.
One Chihuahua barks behind the fence at the home of Nannie Johnson. It's the one dog that got away when Limestone County Deputies rescued 29 puppies on Friday.
"Upon looking inside the residence and in the out buildings, they discovered that she had had several animals that had died, that she had put in garbage bags or in shopping bags and placed inside freezers inside her home," said Limestone County Sheriff's Captain Stanley McNatt.
Captain McNatt says investigators found the dogs amongst food in her freezer at her home on Putman Circle in Elkmont on Friday.
"On one shelf, she would have her frozen food items and then maybe in the middle of the freezer she would have dead animals all in the same freezer," said Captain McNatt.
Linda Hastings has been Nannie Johnson's neighbor and friend for more than 20 years. She helped get Johnson to the hospital by ambulance in December for what she calls mini-strokes.
"She's not been the same since then, there's been a lot of changes in her personality and I think that's what this is is health issues because she has always taken care of her animals," said Hastings.
Putman Circle is a tight-knit community. However, Hastings had no idea what was happening behind Nannie Johnson's closed doors.
"I think that's just simply because she didn't have the ability to dig holes herself to bury them," said Hastings. "I know she's being portrayed as this awful person and that's just not the case. I honestly think that it's health issues. People may think that, that's a puppy mill and I don't think that you'd call it that either."
"What would you call it?" we asked. "Until recently, a responsible pet breeder," said Hastings.
Captain Stanley McNatt says in the past, Johnson was a legitimate dog breeder.
"I don't know if she became overwhelmed with what she had and was not able tend them like they should have been taken care of," said Captain McNatt.
For now, Hastings is just hoping her neighbor's health doesn't diminish any more.
"Of course I feel bad for the animals, because I'm an animal lover as well," said Hastings. "I feel bad that she's being portrayed as this awful woman. Almost, along the lines as somebody that goes out there and does the dog fighting, you know fight till the death. You know, that's just not her."
Johnson is being held in the Limestone County Jail on a $32,000 bond. Of the 29 puppies that were rescued on Friday, three have already died.
Case UpdatesAn Elkmont woman charged with dozens of animal cruelty charges pleaded guilty Wednesday in Limestone County District Court. However, her situation isn't over yet. Nannie Johnson's lawyers are trying to get the case moved to circuit court.
Johnson is charged with 43 counts of animal cruelty. For two of those counts, Judge Jeanne Anderson sentenced Johnson to six months in prison and a $500 fine for each -- meaning one year in prison, and $1,000 in fines. For the other 41 counts, the judge handed down a six month suspended sentence.
Johnson is currently out of jail on bond. The judge said during this time, Johnson is not allowed to have any animals in her possession.
Johnson's lawyer, Harlan Mitchell, plans to appeal his client's sentence by arguing Johnson is not guilty by reason of mental defect, which must be determined by a jury trial in circuit court.
In April, Limestone County Sheriff's deputies rescued 30 dogs from Johnson's home in Elkmont. They found dozens more dead animals stuffed in freezers.
People who saw the story about the rescued animals ended up adopting all the dogs that survived.
Johnson spent several months in a mental health treatment facility after her arrest, according to Limestone County District Attorney Kristi Valls. | Source: WHNT - Sept 29, 2010
Update posted on Oct 3, 2010 - 3:45PM |
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