Arrest Warrant Still Pending For Fireman Accused Of Abandoning Dogs

September 2, 2010

An arrest warrant for an Escambia County volunteer fireman accused of abandoning three dogs is still pending.

The warrant was not active as of late Wednesday afternoon, according to Melissa Aiken Rawson, spokesperson for the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office. Once a warrant application is submitted by deputies, it can take a number of days before it is reviewed and signed by a judge, she said.

The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office has submitted an arrest warrant  for judicial review charging the firefighter with a felony count of grand theft, and misdemeanor charges of abandonment of animals and obstruction of justice.  As a matter of policy, NorthEscambia.com generally does not identify suspects until they are formally charged.

Disciplinary action was taken against the volunteer by the department, according to Century Assistant District Chief David Adams. He declined to elaborate.

The volunteer allegedly abandoned three dogs that were reported to be “rescued” by the Century Station of Escambia Fire Rescue August 22. The department requested NorthEscambia.com run a story seeking the dog’s owners so that they could be returned. The volunteer allegedly agreed to take care of the dogs until the owner stepped forward. He eventually told a fire department officer that he had found a good home for the dogs with a man in Walnut Hill. Instead, the volunteer told deputies,  he abandoned the canines at Pine Barren Road and Highway 168 near Bratt.

The Sheriff’s Office was contacted after the dogs’ owner saw the NorthEscambia.com story and went to the fire department to retrieve his animals. The dogs were found a few days later on Highway 4, not far from Northview High School. They were  determined to be in good condition by a veterinarian and returned the owner.

For more on this story, click here for an August 27 article.

Pictured top: These cellphone photos show three dogs found the evening of August 22 on North Century Boulevard just south of Tedder Road. The firefighter partially in the photograph is not the firefighter suspect in the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office investigation into the disappearance of the dogs. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.

Comments

14 Responses to “Arrest Warrant Still Pending For Fireman Accused Of Abandoning Dogs”

  1. geezzzz on September 5th, 2010 8:46 am

    It’s so terrible when one bad apple tries to taint the whole barrel.

    Thank you to all our wonderful firefighters, we know your
    the best.

    This guy obviously has some kind of problem and wasn’t
    raised right.

  2. dock urchin on September 3rd, 2010 7:39 pm

    After finding a “baby mama” cat and several kittens in our back yard, and the disaster trying to work thru the “humane ” society, I , and my wife, who really love animals, have determined a lot of the people, our nations future, are the same people who throw garbage out of their car windows…they expect, probably demand , the hard-working, tax payers of this community to take care of them. The kittens and the “baby mama” were taken to the animal shelter, where there is no happy ending. Our obligations at this point of our life can not let us care for a lot of cats. This is sort of traumatic for my wife…..people, spay or neuter your pets if you are going to let them roam the neighborhood. As for the the people who allow this to happen, they continue to drive cars, carry guns, and have babies.

  3. Horrific on September 3rd, 2010 9:13 am

    Al I’m so glad you beat me to this one.

    I would not have been so kind!

    Your absolutely right there are many of us who CARE…..

  4. [_]\ on September 2nd, 2010 8:50 pm

    Amen AL

  5. meforone on September 2nd, 2010 12:55 pm

    Huh , you must not live where you are blessed with the end product of this kind of act. There’s got to be those who don’t do things like this and then there’s those who don’t see a problem with it.

  6. Paul on September 2nd, 2010 12:52 pm

    E) All of the above. Good post AL.

  7. sandra on September 2nd, 2010 12:06 pm

    Dont let the actions of a misguided volunteer fireman taint your image of the hundreds of firefighters that work in our area. They are for the most part some of the best people you will ever meet and most have a heart the size of Nebraska. Every now and then in any organization a bad apple slips in the back door and damages a reputation before they can be weeded out. God bless our firefighters

  8. my2cents on September 2nd, 2010 11:33 am

    AL=You speak for a lot of us.

  9. AL on September 2nd, 2010 11:23 am

    I care about this story.
    A) I care about dogs being thrown out (and allowed to run loose)
    B) I care about the integrity of people who may be in my home while I am in a crisis
    C) I care about the compassion of people who may respond to an accident involving myself or my family
    D) I care about seeing a law, no matter how “small” , enforced in our ridiculous wrist-slapping judicial system.

  10. dnutjob on September 2nd, 2010 7:44 am

    Robert , there is a leash law that far up its just not enforced. If your dog is running loose they will pick it up if a complaint is made, because it is not on a leash and or under control.

  11. robert on September 2nd, 2010 7:40 am

    there is no leash law in effect ths far up if you want to let your dog run loose you can you just take the risk of them getting shot or run over i promise you if he comes in my yard and acts like he is going to bite me or my kids i’m gonna shoot it

  12. unchainyourdog on September 2nd, 2010 6:29 am

    We have LAWS in this county to PROTECT those who are *just dogs*. You may not agree but they do exist. I care that such a callous act was perpetrated by this man. Pet abandonment is illegal here. The vol. firefighter needs to be charged. These dogs could have escaped from owner, but if the owner allowed them to roam, I agree, they should pay restitution.

  13. ProudArmyParent on September 2nd, 2010 5:47 am

    Well for one I care. But I do agree charge the the owner also for his dogs running free. If they hadn’t been this mess would have never grown.

  14. huh on September 2nd, 2010 12:59 am

    Who cares they are just dogs, they shouldn’t have been in the street. Fine the original owner a few thousand dollars for wasting the fire departments time and tax payers money.