Trooper Simpson stopped the women in a U-Haul truck towing a minivan near mile marker forty-two at approximately 11:00 am this morning. There agents noticed 25 animals inside the minivan unattended and with no food or water. Upon further investigation, officers found over one hundred dogs and one cat locked inside the cargo compartment of the U-Haul truck.
There were a total of 128 animals located in the two vehicles. Some animals were in cages, but many were loose inside the cargo compartment. Officers noted urine and feces all over the cargo compartment and located no food or water provided to the animals.
Agents detained the driver, Bonnie Sheehan, age 55, and her passenger, Pamela A. King-McCracken, age 59, and notified Fayette County Animal Rescue.
Fayette County Animal Rescue and Collierville Animal Control, with the assistance of the Shelby County chapter of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, (ASPCA),took the animals into protective custody.
The women, who both produced California identification, told investigators that they were coming from Long Beach, CA enroute to Virgina. Both Sheehan and King-McCracken were arrested and charged with 128 counts of aggravated animal cruelty.
The West Tennessee Drug Task Force is a joint agency comprised of law enforcement officers assigned from various law enforcement agencies in three of West Tennessee’s judicial districts. The judicial districts include the 28th Judicial District (Crockett, Gibson, and Haywood Counties); the 29th Judicial District (Dyer and Lake Counties); and the 30th Judicial District (Shelby County).
Additionally, six agents work solely for the Task Force and not for separate law enforcement agencies.
The Task Force is administered by District Attorney GeneralGarry Brown of the 28th Judicial District; District Attorney General Phillip Bivens of the 29th Judicial District; and District Attorney General Amy Weirich of the 30th Judicial District.
(Shelby County District Attorney - January 17, 2012)
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