Allegedly Intoxicated Man Unloads 12 Gage Shotgun on Dog

For Immediate Release

Contact: Doll Stanley, doll@idausa.org, (662) 809-4483

Images: http://bit.ly/idaLuke

Greenwood, MS (June 21, 2016) In Defense of Animals, the international animal protection organization that runs the Justice for Animals Campaign in Mississippi, is calling for the prosecution of a man who allegedly walked into his neighbors’ yard and shot their dog in the face with a 12 gage shotgun while under the influence of alcohol.

The Malamute-Siberian Husky mix dog Luke was shot in the face on Thursday, June 16, while the Harris family visited their grandmother. A witness reported that neighbor Mr. Eddie Gene Mathews walked down the street with his 12 gage shotgun, went into the Harris’ yard, drew his weapon and shot Luke in the face. Luke is said to have run crying into the woods while Mathews held his weapon to his chest and walked back to his residence.

Sergeant Baldwin of the Leflore County Sheriff’s Department responded to the emergency and arrested Mathews. Mathews could be charged under Mississippi State statute 97-41-16 (2) (b) “Maliciously injuring dogs or cats”, a misdemeanor charge of aggravated cruelty, which carries a maximum penalty of a $2,500 fine and up six months in prison. Mathews may face an additional charge reflecting his drunken state.

It was reported that Mathews claimed Luke tried to bite a young visiting relative. Luke’s guardian, Mr. Harris responded, “Luke is a friendly dog. The neighbors kids come over to play with him, and we have a 10 month old son at home. Luke has never shown aggression to any child.”

“We want to see Mathews punished to the fullest extent of the law” said In Defense of Animals’ Justice for Animals Campaign Director Doll Stanley, who is assisting the Harris family. “Crimes like these are having a serious impact on families and their animals. Reports of shootings, burnings, draggings from vehicles, and equally horrid violence against animals are flowing into our office. Mississippians are outraged, and we are calling on legislators and authorities to do more to punish these crimes to protect our communities.”

The current punishment for a first offense of animal cruelty is only classed as a misdemeanor. In Defense of Animals is working to see a first offense felony bill passed in 2017 after a similar bill was “killed” in the 2016 legislative session when the Mississippi Farm Bureau took direct aim at it.

“We call on Mississippians holding Farm Bureau insurance policies to protest the Bureau’s inexcusable actions to allow monstrous animal abusers to escape proper justice,” added Stanley.

Mathews’ court date is set for July 7, 2016 at 9:00 a.m.

For more information, please visit www.idausa.org

NOTES

Leflore County Sheriff incident # 2016060105

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In Defense of Animals’ Justice for Animals Campaign is actively working with officials in communities, building a groundswell of support for establishing and amending city and county ordinances as part of its campaign to show state lawmakers that Mississippians will not tolerate animal cruelty.

In Defense of Animals is an international animal protection organization located in San Rafael, Calif. dedicated to protecting animals’ rights, welfare, and habitats through education, outreach, and our hands-on rescue facilities in India, Africa, and rural Mississippi.