| Teenagers face felony charges in death of puppy; case bound over to grand jury | | Posted: Thursday, June 14, 2012 9:08 pm
| By MARY JEAN HALL
Special to The Messenger
Two young adults facing felony counts of aggravated animal cruelty charges waived their rights to a preliminary hearing in the Weakley County General Sessions Court Wednesday, and the charges are being bound over to the grand jury in September.
Preston Odle, 18, of Evergreen Street in Dresden and Levi Evans, 19, of Delmar Street in Greenfield will be arraigned at 9 a.m. Sept. 10 at the Weakley County Courthouse in Dresden.
They were charged after Dresden Police officers discovered a puppy had allegedly been tortured to death on May 15.
During general sessions court, assistant district attorney Colin Johnson said his office is charging the two with felony counts instead of misdemeanors.
“The facts of the case meet the criteria,” he said. “The elements of the crime constitute a felony in our opinion.”
During court Wednesday, the defendants’ attorneys were announced. Lang Unger of Martin is representing Odle, while Robert Kinton of Trenton is representing Evans.
The court accepted the waivers that were signed in court.
According to Weakley County General Sessions Court Judge Tommy Moore, the bond was not increased since Odle is currently undergoing counseling and Evans has attempted to sign up for counseling. Unger informed the court that Odle is currently undergoing outpatient counseling within Weakley County, but he was looking at the possibility of inpatient counseling.
Moore ruled that Odle and Evans must meet certain conditions until the arraignment in September. They must seek and continue counseling, are prohibited from owning or being in contact with any animals and are allowed to be admitted into in-house treatment outside the jurisdiction of Weakley County.
Odle and Evans are placed under a curfew from 8 p.m. until 7 a.m. seven days a week, and during the curfew they must be located at the home of a parent or under the direct personal supervision of a parent. They may reside outside the jurisdiction if the residence of the parent is outside of the jurisdiction.
As a condition of their bond, they cannot have any additional arrests.
Unger made a statement to The Press regarding the case currently pending against his client.
“The case involving Preston Odle was set today for preliminary hearing in the Weakley County General Sessions Court,” he said. “Mr. Odle chose to waive that hearing to allow the case to proceed to the September, 2012 term of the Weakley County Grand Jury.
“I recognize that this case has been emotionally charged. I was pleased that the group that attended court this morning was orderly and well behaved. My hope going forward is that everyone involved will respect the privacy of these two young men and the integrity of our legal system.”
The courtroom was packed with local citizens quietly holding “Justice for Puppy Doe” signs. Representatives from Death Row Doggies Rescue, Red Fern Animal Shelter and other local animal shelters showed up to show their support for the puppy that was allegedly tortured to death by Odle and Evans.
Some of the people in the crowd mentioned that they had missed work to show their support for “Puppy Doe.” Rebecca Alexander was among those in the crowd seeking justice. “There was an innocent puppy hurt, killed and tortured for no reason at all,” she said. “It was a malicious act. They could have given the puppy away, taken it to a shelter, but they didn’t.
“To me that is a felony situation and I think that they should be punished. That’s why I’m here. It was a senseless crime.”
Odle and Evans are facing the charges after, according to an affidavit, the Dresden Police Department was contacted around 7:45 p.m. May 15 when a young man and his father went to pick up a dog that was apparently foaming at the mouth and limping. DPD Chief Randal Walker said an approximately 4-month-old St. Bernard puppy was given to Odle.
Odle claimed he didn’t want the dog and offered the puppy to a friend. When the friend came back with his father to pick up the animal, they noticed the dog was foaming at the mouth, limping and had a cut on his back.
Walker said Odle and Evans admitted to assaulting the puppy. The chief said the animal had been kicked and suffered broken ribs.
The two also allegedly wired the dog’s mouth shut and wrapped its neck in wire and hung the dog. The animal also suffered a knife wound in the back.
The puppy died a few hours later as a result.
Editor’s note: Mary Jean Hall is a student at the University of Tennessee at Martin. Published in The Messenger 6.14.12 | | | | |
