Accused Donkey Killer In Court; JB The Donkey Doing Just Fine

July 17, 2009

jb1.jpg

Kyle Mason Driver, the 17-year old accused of shooting the mother of JB the donkey in May, was back in court this week. Meanwhile, JB continues to do well.

Driver appeared before Judge Kenneth Williams who set a late September trial date in the case.

driverkyle.jpgDriver, 17, was originally charged as a juvenile, but he now faces charges as an adult in Escambia County Circuit Court on three charges related to the May 2 shooting death of the donkey on River Annex Road near Jacks Branch Road. The shooting happened within minutes of the birth of J.B., a white donkey that became a local media celebrity of sorts.

Driver is now facing adult charges of felony animal cruelty, using a weapon during the commission of a felony and possession of a firearm by a minor.

Driver turned himself in to the Escambia County Jail May 6 about two hours after NorthEscambia.com published his photo and a plea for the public’s help in locating him from the Sheriff’s Department. He was released from jail on $6,000 bond.

Deputies say Driver confessed to the crime, and a witness provided deputies with the .22 caliber weapon used in the shooting.

jb2.jpgDiane Lowery of Panhandle Equine Rescue, the non-profit group that took custody of J.B. after his mother was shot, provided us the following update on J.B.s condition:

J.B. is two months old now and quite a little character. He has his own paddock and stall and is eating foal pellets free choice along with getting his baby formula four times a day. He is surrounded by adult horses, but is still too small to join the herd. We are probably going to receive a donkey back into our care that was adopted out last year and must be returned. We plan on putting her in with J.B. so she can teach him how to be a “donkey”.

When he is weaned and eating grass, they will both join the herd on 15 acres of pasture with lots of oak trees to provide shade for leisure time and naps. J.B., a.k.a. Burrito has been adopted by his foster mom, Lindley Barden. She really loves him and will give him a great forever home.

We appreciate everyone’s support during the first two months of his life. It started out rough for him, losing his mother so tragically, but Panhandle Equine Rescue will make sure that the rest of his life will be happy and he will be well cared for. We thank Lindley for all she has done and will continue to do to ensure that all his needs will be met, including plenty of love and attention!

Comments

13 Responses to “Accused Donkey Killer In Court; JB The Donkey Doing Just Fine”

  1. Barry on August 21st, 2009 7:03 pm

    It’s good to hear of people who care for the innocent. I am a strong believer in a direct relationship between animal empathy and human behaviours. A persons true self is revealed in how they treat animals and I thank God that there is people like you out there.
    As for the man that actually comitted the crime – We all make choices in life, too bad he has started his adult life making the wrong ones.

  2. guess who on August 4th, 2009 1:02 pm

    Has it ever occured to any of you that maybe this was an accident and not intentional on this young man’s behalf? Let’s face it, according to the police reports, there were two people involved and they went to shoot a rifle, not a donkey. Just curious!

  3. Ask ourselves... on July 20th, 2009 9:53 am

    There have been several animal abuse cases in this area over this past few years…..donkeys have been dragged down roads behind vehicles, dogs have been dragged down roads & left for dead, and we’ve had horses shot, insurance $ attempted to be collected, & barns burned to hide the evidence………..This 17 year old was definately wrong……was this the first time he has been in trouble? Get him mandatory counselling, order him to spend a little time in jail….give him a tour of one of the local state prisons…..let him see how the inmates look at him in ‘big-boy’ prison, make him serve community hours at Panhandle Equine Rescue…..cleaning stalls, grooming horses, throwing & stacking hay in the July heat, anything that =good old fashioned physical work!!!!!! Don’t totally ruin this kid’s life. After all, the woman that shot, killed, burned the barn……pretty much walked free………..and it wasn’t the first time she had plotted (and succeeded) in collecting insurance on her animals.
    Maybe we do need to ask ourselves…………………………….Just a thought….

  4. david leroy moorer on July 19th, 2009 10:53 pm

    Next thing you know people will be marrying animals

  5. Queenbee on July 19th, 2009 9:18 pm

    Kevin and Just A Question:
    Please keep in mind that a person that can shoot an animal just for target practice especially at such an early age, needs to be punished and held accountable for his actions. It has been researched, that most murderers, especially serial killers started off abusing animals. We must take animal cruelty seriously, because it can escalate and the crimes can continue on with humans. The Billings murders were horrible, but animal cruelty can’t be ignored in this county.

  6. Just a Question on July 19th, 2009 11:24 am

    I agree that what this young man done was wrong and do not think he should in any way get away with it , but as I have noticed on this very site that you can kill an animal and spend your life in jail but you can kill 2 people and almost kill a family of 4 and be free to run the roads as you please. What type of justice system are we living in? Yes he should be punished but should he be punished more for killing an animal than someone did for killing 2 humans beings? Are we living in a world that an animal’s life is more important that a persons? I am just asking?

  7. kevin on July 18th, 2009 11:37 pm

    Kevin here

    i understand that totally. but u know i understand this was a living breathing animal. animals are my soft spots. But you know to the many crimes out there the courts take crimes like this serious and the ones that need to be taken serious not to serious enough. now teh man committed the crime at age 17 and yes your right about the age and he knows what is wrong and right, but you said it yourself. rather than punishing him persay, they should determine if he does have a mental illness and get him the help he needs and then discuss a punishment based on the results and outcome. but legall by law and as a constitutional right for the guy they cannot raise a crime that was committed by at 17 yo at the age of 17 to an adult crime just because he is now 18. While i do respect all you guys replies and understand totally. but please understand this man has made a mistake that is already going to be on his record for the rest of his life adn haunt him when it comes to jobs careers and such. i went to prison over prison now not jail but prison for a criminal mischief charge that didnt even carry a prison sentence and thats whjat i mean by the courts dwell on light charges when they could be getting more people off of hte streets like they have this past week over the murders.

  8. jackie on July 17th, 2009 5:35 pm

    So good to see that Burrito is doing so well you people have such big hearts . I really think this person should be punished to the full exstent .

  9. Yeah Ri ght on July 17th, 2009 5:03 pm

    Do to him what he did to the animal…..he deserves no less….no more

  10. Bill on July 17th, 2009 1:37 pm

    Kevin,
    At the ripe young age of 17 years old, this young man was fully aware of the repercussions of his actions and deserves to be tried as an adult. He obviously has issues and needs medical attention before this type of random killing escalates to human targets. If found guilty I hope he is given a couple years locked behind bars to think about his actions, but mostly I hope he receives the counseling needed to prevent him from conducting this type behavior in the future.

  11. so wrong; on July 17th, 2009 1:30 pm

    To “Kevin” he should be punished in general, not saying move the charges from minor to adult, but he did commit a unruley crime that should not go without punishment. I know you’re probably thinking, hey it’s just a donkey, but animals have just as many rights to live as we do. Teenagers do many stupid things, but if they go without punishment, who is to say that it will stop at just the killing of the donkey, no one can promise that it will.
    Poor donkey, glad he’s doing well.

  12. interested reader on July 17th, 2009 1:07 pm

    Glad for the update on J.B. and the killer. Hope he has a long time in jail to reflect on his actions, This could have been a person killed. Looking at the Beulah tragedy should awaken him, but who knows? I know William will keep us posted as this case progresses.

  13. kevin on July 17th, 2009 1:05 pm

    i know this man did wrong but he committed the crime at age 17 there is no legal way the courts can raise it to an adult charge and this shows how cruel and unfair our court system is

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News