Animal cruelty charges dismissed against Marshall ISD employee

TEXAS -- Charges have been dismissed against a Marshall ISD employee who was charged with animal cruelty in April after a surveillance camera at a local animal shelter showed him dropping puppies over a fence, onto what police and the shelter’s executive director described as a concrete pad.

A Harrison County grand jury decided on Thursday that there was no probable cause to proceed with prosecution against Paul Smith. Harrison County District Attorney Coke Solomon said he couldn’t comment on the grand jury’s instructions.

After Smith’s arrest, a team of attorneys from Marshall to Austin rallied behind him, voluntarily fighting on his behalf.

The attorneys argued that their client, pest control coordinator for the school district, was acting as a good Samaritan when he discovered five abandoned puppies while working, and brought them to the Human Society of Harrison County's no-kill shelter, The Pet Place, for refuge.

They also argued that the puppies were dropped on the grass area behind the fence and not the asphalt concrete.

"On behalf of the Smith family, we would like to thank the grand jurors for taking their time to review the facts and evidence and for reaching the right conclusion….no crime was committed," Amanda Abraham, co-counsel for Smith, said. "This was the reason I reached out to Mr. Smith to volunteer my assistance. I, too, saw a man being wrongfully convicted and smeared through social media.

Local attorneys representing Smith were Abraham, of the Roth Law Firm; Lisa M. Andrews, of the Law Office of Lisa M. Andrews PLLC; Mike Miller, of Miller Law Firm; and the Honorable William Todd Hughey, of the Hughey Law Center.

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The shelter's facility director, Kay Hill, called Marshall Police Department after watching surveillance video of the drop off, which showed Smith dropping the puppies over a fence. The Pet Place uploaded the video to social media and asked the public to help them identify the man in the video who was in a district vehicle.

Smith, who voluntarily went to the police station, was arrested shortly after, following an interview by detectives.

"The fact is that Mr. Smith never intended, nor did he harm the five puppies in question," Smith's attorneys collectively said in an emailed statement, following his arrest. "He was a good Samaritan who rescued up the puppies so they could receive proper care."

(Longview News-Journal  - ‎May 28, 2015‎)

Earlier:

• Marshall ISD employee, Paul Warren Smith, arrested on charge of animal cruelty