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Case ID: 17619
Classification: Shooting, Fighting
Animal: dog (non pit-bull)
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Shelter investigation-dogs shot, dog fighting
Chesterfield, SC (US)

Incident Date: Friday, Mar 4, 2011
County: Chesterfield

Disposition: Not Charged
Case Images: 1 files available

Persons of Interest:
» Brian Burch
» Eric Donahue
» Lee Carnea
» James Calvin Culledge

Case Updates: 5 update(s) available

The State Law Enforcement Division and the S.C. Attorney General's Office are now investigating accusations that animal control workers shot and killed several dogs at the Chesterfield County animal shelter rather than euthanizing them by lethal injection.

The shelter remains closed and all of its employees are on paid administrative leave after an incident Friday in which several dogs apparently were shot to death by county employees.

The incident developed when a volunteer from Paws and Claws of Chesterfield County, a local animal rescue organization that works with shelter employees to care for the animals there, arrived at the shelter to pick up some dogs and noticed that quite a few dogs were missing.

That volunteer was told by an inmate working at shelter the dogs had been shot, taken across the street and buried in a lot used by the county as a shooting range.

According to shelter records, six animals were killed and 12 others were released elsewhere.

While the investigation into the matter continues, many Chesterfield County residents and residents across the state and country are not only outraged but also demanding accountability.

Robert Crowley, a Chesterfield County resident who recently adopted a dog, said many people in the community are shocked by what has taken place and want to know why it happened.

"Emotions are running really high right now over this," Crowley said. "I think we need to get some answers from all parties involved and bring some closure and bring to light what really did happen here."

Chesterfield County Sheriff Sam Parker said Tuesday he is grateful the state agencies have offered to take up the case because his office also oversees the animal shelter. He said he feels an investigation by his own team would be a conflict of interest.

Parker said since the sheriff's office took over the shelter about two years ago, it has had to euthanize animals because there are too many animals to care for and not enough funding and supplies.

"We have no funding, we absolutely have no funding whatsoever for this division," he said.

Parker said though the incident should never have taken place, he is glad for the spotlight that has been placed on the needs of the county and the shelter.

"We have attention and this attention, hopefully, instead of condemning us, people will understand it takes money to operate," he said.

The budget allotted by Chesterfield County for the current year gave the shelter $162,970 in funds. Of that, $108,037 went toward employee salaries, $41,933 went to fringe benefits such as workers' compensation and only about 9 percent of the total budget, or about $13,000, remained for any other expenses including food for the animals, vehicles, vehicle repairs and expenses, utilities and emergencies incurred during the year.

"I inherited the shelter with zero funding and we still have zero funding," Parker said.

"As far as any additional funding, it's not there."

Parker said he has previously asked Chesterfield County Council to allot more money for the shelter expenses, which would result in far fewer euthanizations, but council has declined to provide more funds.

The shelter houses 60 to 70 animals each month and has to euthanize a large portion of them because there is not enough money to feed and care for them.

Attempts to contact several members of Chesterfield County Council on Tuesday, including Chairman Matt Rivers, were unsuccessful as calls were not returned.

Parker said if additional funding is not provided, there are few alternatives left.

"It's a costly thing, but we're not here to put animals down," Parker said. "We started about three years ago to try to get a no-kill shelter but we're not there. We won't be there without funding.

"We stand a chance one day to actually close it down ... that's an option we're going to have to look at that this shelter may go away and we will deal with that ... and the citizens of Chesterfield County once again, will have animals running wild," he said.

SLED is expected to turn over its findings to the S.C. Attorney General's Office if there is evidence of criminal activity. SLED originally declined to participate in the investigation because it felt no criminal activity had taken place, but reconsidered the matter Tuesday after requests from the .C. Attorney General's Office as well as the Chesterfield County Sheriff's Office and the 4th Circuit Solicitor's Office.

The employees of the shelter are expected to remain on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.

Parker said the leave is paid because the workers have only been accused, not convicted, of a crime.

Despite the workers' absence, Parker said he expects the shelter to reopen by Saturday with the assistance of volunteers and deputies.


Case Updates

After months of investigation and allegations of animal cruelty and dog fighting, the staff at the Chesterfield County Sheriff's Office has been relieved of their duties.

According to a release from Sheriff Sam Parker, the decision "was made in an effort to begin a new start at the shelter" and the staff was fired on Monday.

The animal shelter has been under investigation by the Sheriff's Office, South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED), and the state's Attorney General's office since allegations came out in March 2011 that some animals were being shot as a form of euthanasia.

The Chesterfield sheriff's office has been conducting an internal investigation since the allegations surfaced that animal shelter workers may have shot nearly two dozen dogs, before dumping them in a landfill. Sheriff Parker told WBTV that he believes the initial number was exaggerated, saying his office was investigating the deaths of six animals.

A month later new allegations surfaced about dog-fighting activities within the county animal shelters, but Parker told WBTV that those allegations were false.

On Wednesday afternoon, the Attorney General's Office released their findings in the case.

The findings orders the Chester County Sheriff's Office and the Animal Shelter to make changes that will take place over the next few years.

WEB EXTRA:

WBTV filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the Sheriff's Office and learned the names of the four people fired from the shelter; Brian Burch, Eric Donahue, Lee Carnea and James Calvin Culledge. The animal control workers placed on administrative leave when the allegations initially surfaced.

Sheriff Parker says for the past six months the shelter operated with one full-time employee and two part-time employees and the shelter has seen "a tremendous increase in animal intake during [that] time. We will provide the shelter with [personnel] in order to be of better service."

Previous article:

A volunteer who works with the shelter to adopt out dogs says a tip led her to the landfill. Deborah Farhi says she dug up two dead dogs that were shot in the head.

"I feel that we owe it to the animals and citizens of this county that we begin to set standards and be held accountable for our pets," Parker told WBTV. "This office and staff are humane and are asking for help and volunteers for our shelter. We are going to do what is right."

Sheriff Parker says that he hopes allegations of past mistakes will not keep the shelter from moving forward.

Previous article:

He hopes that the complainants and opinions will turn into solutions for the shelter, which still suffers from financial needs, cat food, dog food, cat litter and a helping hand.

"For this shelter to be successful, a joint effort must be made and everyone must be on one accord. We've been shown that working against one another leads to destruction and no one wins," Parker said. "Please keep in mind the goal we're working towards. It's not for personal gratification or acknowledgment, it's for the well being of God's creatures. This must be a team effort not a power struggle or opinion. We can't dwell in the past but must move forward in a positive direction."
Source: wbtv.com - Aug 3, 2011
Update posted on Aug 3, 2011 - 10:54PM 
Claiming that they have been rebuffed by local law enforcement agents and are being ignored by the S.C. Attorney General's office, angry residents of Chesterfield County, S.C. are taking their case directly to Gov. Nikki Haley.

Residents are upset that there has been no follow-up regarding the gruesome discovery of six dead dogs at a local landfill. The dogs �" which had been in the care of the Chesterfield Animal Shelter �" were found buried in the landfill with multiple bullet wounds. Not only that �" chains, cement weights and a training area were also discovered at the facility, prompting some to speculate that its owners were involved in a dog-fighting ring.

The incident made national news earlier this month … once again casting the Palmetto state in a most unflattering light.

Chesterfield County Sheriff Sam Parker (whose department took over the center two years ago) has gone on record stating that he believes the shootings were legal �" citing a state law that governs "emergency euthanasia."

Parker has also basically tried to use the incident as a fund-raising tool for his office.

"We have attention and this attention, hopefully, instead of condemning us, people will understand it takes money to operate," Parker told
"We want to know WHO is actually investigating this, assuming anyone is," reads an excerpt from
a website launched by a group of Chesterfield citizens asks.
Source: fitsnews.com - Mar 25, 2011
Update posted on Mar 26, 2011 - 9:13AM 
Deborah Farhi blew the whistle on the Chesterfield County Animal Shelter. She is the rescuer who discovered freshly shot dead dogs in an un-permitted landfill across the street, an area the state says the shelter shouldn't have been using in the first place.

She spoke directly with prisoners who say they witnessed shelter workers shoot and kill 22 animals despite the shelter's lethal injection policy. It's pretty compelling information. Information you might think SLED - the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division - would be interested in.

But Farhi says: no one from SLED has interviewed her. The agency turned over its file on Chesterfield to the state Attorney General's office on Monday.

Farhi, who spoke with FOX by phone but has been advised by an attorney to stay off camera, will send a letter to the Attorney General's office on Thursday, notifying them that she hasn't been questioned, also at the advice of her attorney.

Frankie Bowers worked at the shelter in January and February. He says he witnessed shelter workers shoot and kill about 40 dogs and at least 15 cats. He, too, tells FOX SLED never questioned him.

We're also uncovering more information about shelter workers. Frank Laney, who was allegedly fired from the shelter after an out of county alcohol violation, has a criminal history that includes 17 charges, one for domestic violence.

He, like the so-called "Sergeant"/convicted felon Brian Burch, is not and was not a sworn officer yet a picture we've obtained shows Laney with a Sheriff's Office badge.

We've also uncovered what appears to be a major loophole in South Carolina law. The shelter has licenses from the Department of Health and Environmental Control and the DEA, which authorizes it to receive Schedule III controlled substances.

But the South Carolina system that licenses individual workers (like Burch, Kip Gulledge, Eric Donahue and Lee Carnes) to administer euthanasia drugs is essentially an honor system according to state officials.

There is no oversight and no agency is required to keep records on the sort of training the men may have received.

The Attorney General's office tells FOX that once it has finished its study of SLED's report, it will "get the word out quickly" to the media.
Source: foxcharlotte.com - Mar 23, 2011
Update posted on Mar 26, 2011 - 9:07AM 
Cement weights, a chain, a "work out" area, all at an animal shelter. Maybe the Chesterfield County employees or the inmates who worked at the shelter were using the equipment on their lunch break. Dog fighting experts say that type of equipment can be used to train pit bulls. We're told the equipment has been gone for a few years. "In my opinion, nothing has gotten better, they've only gotten better at hiding things," says animal rescuer "Jennifer."

She has more than four years of experience with the Chesterfield Shelter. On her first visit, she went undercover and asked about buying "game dogs." She says she was led straight to the pits.

She says an inmate, desperate to sell her a dog for ten or 20 bucks, set up an impromptu fight. She says, "He was talking about one dog in particular that would make a lot of money and he takes a smaller mixed breed dog from the kennel nearby and he slings his dog in with the pit bull and I watched it get mauled to death right in front of me."

Even now, four years later, she asked us to protect her identity. "I do, I kinda fear for my safety, because you never know who's involved."

One of the county employee's names kept popping up on dogs, Jennifer says. Brian Burch, the shelter director, is also a convicted felon. In the 90's, he was sentenced to three years in prison plus a $10,000 fine for coke and LSD.

Rescuers like Jennifer tell us kennel tags marked "hold pit bull" were common place. The shelter doesn't allow pits to be adopted. "On kennels, there was papers saying 'hold for Brian Burch.' A lot of these dogs would be severely scarred, so skinny. Every one of 'em, pits. Never another breed of dog," says Jennifer.

And then, there's the possible Michael Vick connection. News of his arrest in 2007 apparently gave some folks in Chesterfield County something to brag about, according to Jennifer. "I know a lot of people have told me they have bought dogs from Brian and Brian breeds dogs and Brian sells dogs and so they were proud of their dogs at that point because they said their dogs had blood lines of some of Michael Vick's blood line, that Brian's dogs could be traced back to Vick."

We left messages with the Sheriff and Brian Burch but they didn't return our calls. Burch and three other shelter employees remain on administrative leave.
Source: foxcharlotte.com - Mar 20, 2011
Update posted on Mar 26, 2011 - 9:02AM 
The Attorney General's Office and the State Law Enforcement Division are now involved in the investigation of allegations that nearly two dozen dogs were shot and killed by and placed all four animal control officers on leave.

The Humane Society of central South Carolina emailed this statement about the situation: "We have received numerous emails regarding these reports from Chesterfield, SC. Like many, we are horrified to hear that anything like this could happen. As is our practice, we will look into these reports and work with the appropriate law enforcement and legal authorities to investigate these allegations. As details are confirmed and made available, we will participate in any efforts to bring justice to those who are found guilty of committing any crimes against animals."

Faith Tyson, founder of the Southern Animal Welfare League in Florence, says the law is clear. "It's torture. The law, again, says you can't cruelly kill an animal."

Although these are still accusations and not convictions, we'd like to hear your thoughts. Should animal control officials be given the right to shoot an animal in an emergency situation as allowed by SC law?
Source: carolinalive.com - Mar 8, 2011
Update posted on Mar 26, 2011 - 8:58AM 

References

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