Malinda Sue Dowling, 47, was arrested Thursday and charged with possession of methamphetamine, possession of paraphernalia, keeping a public nuisance structure for drugs and seven counts of aggravated animal cruelty resulting in death after a joint investigation by Bay County Animal Control and the Bay County Sheriff’s Office.
Animal Control workers initially responded to Dowling’s residence at 402 Brady Way on Sept. 15 after a call concerning dead rabbits left inside a cage, according to reports.
In the backyard, Officer Mary Weir with Animal Control found seven dead rabbits in a cage with no food or water.
“The rabbits were in various stages of decay,” the complaint affidavit reads. “Some were only fur and bones inside the cage and the most intact rabbit was full of maggots.”
A woman tenant renting a room in Dowling’s home told Animal Control officers that Dowling would become “agitated and violent” whenever she tried to take care of the rabbits.
In a sworn statement to BCSO deputies, the woman, who moved in back in July, said she initially didn’t know the rabbits were out there because the backyard was so full of debris and junk.
Once she and her son found the rabbits, she began feeding them but stopped after Dowling threatened her, she said.
“Dowling told her they are her rabbits, and she had no business messing with them, as they are food, not pets,” the report states.
Dowling left the rabbits for days without food and water, often in the direct sun, the tenant said.
Investigators with BCSO returned to the residence Thursday with an arrest warrant for Dowling, but found more than just dead rabbits.
Inside the home, syringes, baggies and other paraphernalia were scattered in plain view, investigators reported, and plastic baggies found in Dowling’s bedroom field tested positive for methamphetamine.
According to the report, a witness said they observed Dowling snorting a substance inside her vehicle in her driveway, as well as numerous individuals visiting the residence for “5-10 minutes” at a time.
After being read her rights, Dowling allegedly said she knew her boyfriend had been using meth inside her home, but claimed she believed he had stopped.
After her first appearance on Friday, Dowling’s bond was set at $15,000.
Full Name: Malinda Sue Dowling
Address: 402 Brady Way, Panama City, Florida
Gender: Female
Race: White
Eye color: Brown
Weight: 160 Pounds
Height: 5 Ft. 08 In.
Birthdate: 12/04/1969
Arrest Age: 47
Arrest Date: 10/26/2017
Arresting agency: Bay County, Florida
Charges:
#1 CONSERVATION-ANIMALS - CAUSE CRUEL DEATH PAIN AND SUFFERING
#2 CONSERVATION-ANIMALS - CAUSE CRUEL DEATH PAIN AND SUFFERING
#3 CONSERVATION-ANIMALS - CAUSE CRUEL DEATH PAIN AND SUFFERING
#4 CONSERVATION-ANIMALS - CAUSE CRUEL DEATH PAIN AND SUFFERING
#5 CONSERVATION-ANIMALS - CAUSE CRUEL DEATH PAIN AND SUFFERING
#6 CONSERVATION-ANIMALS - CAUSE CRUEL DEATH PAIN AND SUFFERING
#7 CONSERVATION-ANIMALS - CAUSE CRUEL DEATH PAIN AND SUFFERING
#8 PUBLIC ORDER CRIMES - KEEP PUB NUISANCE STRUCTURE FOR DRUG ACTIVITIES
#9 POSSESSION OF METHAMPHETAMINE
#10 NARCOTIC EQUIP-POSSESS - AND OR USE
* * * * * *
Malinda Sue Dowling charged with tampering with a witness
News Herald - Apr 17, 2017
Malinda Sue Dowling says she was just being a protective mother when she told her daughter not to talk to authorities without representation. The State Attorney’s Office says Dowling broke the law by telling her daughter not to cooperate in the felony case against Dowling’s boyfriend, Joshua David Lee, in which Dowling was the victim.
Now Dowling, 47, is charged with tampering with a witness; Lee, 36, was found guilty of aggravated stalking and sentenced to 5 years in prison — based in part on the daughter’s testimony — and Dowling remains upset the state pursued charges against Lee when she wanted them dropped and that she is going to miss her daughter’s 16th birthday because she’s prohibited from contacting her.
The saga began unfolding in October, when Dowling called authorities to report receiving several life-threatening messages from Lee and he was arrested.
Dowling later requested the charge be dropped and refused to testify, saying she favored substance-abuse treatment for Lee. Despite her protests, prosecutors decided they were taking Lee to trial — based in part on a past criminal history of domestic violence.
As the trial date approached, Dowling left Bay County to care for her ailing mother in Mississippi and entrusted the care of her juvenile daughter to a friend. She said she told her daughter what every parent would: Don’t answer the door and don’t talk to strangers. Dowling disputed that she told her daughter to not speak with prosecutors.
“I told her not to go there without representation,” she said. “I never said she should not talk to them. I just wanted her to have adult representation if she did.”
Dowling said despite that, authorities talked to her daughter, a judge allowed her testimony at trial and Lee was found guilty of aggravated stalking and sentenced April 11 to serve five years in prison.
The 14th Circuit State Attorney’s Office (SAO) said they have evidence Dowling directed her daughter to refuse to speak with authorities, all while Dowling and Lee were engaging in jailhouse conversations. They declined to comment on the exact evidence pending trial. State Attorney Glenn Hess said his office does not take witness tampering lightly — even in cases that involve family members.
“The justice system depends on the honest testimony of people with knowledge; when you interfere with that, the system breaks down,” Hess said. “If tampering with a witness helps beat the rap, you’re going to see a lot of people tampering with witnesses. This is the case the point had to be made. She tried to subvert the justice system.”
Hess added the prosecutor’s decisions were mainly based on the fact that Lee had a history as a violent convict.
In the most recent arrest, Lee had called Dowling in October about a dozen times and left threatening voice messages, the Bay County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) reported.
“I’m going to cut your throat with a paring knife,” officers quote Lee as saying in one message. A text message Dowling received hours later stated: “See if a piece of paper stops me from treating you the way you deserve. Trust me you’ll be getting yours. ... You are gonna [sic] die today.”
That led to Lee’s arrest, but weeks later, as prosecutors began looking at punishments for Lee, Dowling attempted to have the charge dropped against him, saying she favored substance abuse treatment.
“I never felt like they tried to find out who Josh actually is,” Dowling said.
It wasn’t the first time authorities had contact with Lee. He has several past convictions for domestic violence, including a September battery on Dowling. Before that, he was convicted of a separate felony domestic battery, and prior to that, Lee had spent time in prison because he pushed his pregnant girlfriend down a flight of stairs, causing her to sustain a skull fracture. All the cases involved different women.
Hess said that while prosecutors have to consider a victim’s wishes, the SAO also has a duty to protect society from repeat offenders.
“We try to take into consideration the thoughts of every victim,” Hess said. “Nevertheless, it is our responsibility to make a final decision. We have a responsibility to the community at large, and this defendant showed a violent propensity.”
After his arrest, Lee admitted sending the voice mails and text messages in jailhouse phone calls with Dowling. When Dowling refused to participate in the case, prosecutors sought the only other person they said could identify the voices in those calls — her daughter.
With his conviction, Lee, because he qualified as a prison releasee, was sentenced to serve every day of the five-year sentence behind bars.
Dowling said she feels treatment would have been a more appropriate route. She said she felt betrayed by the justice system because not only were her wishes not respected, she is now facing a felony and has been ordered to not have contact with her daughter, which will cause her to miss her first prom and her sweet 16 birthday.
“They’re too quick to incarcerate,” Dowling said. “What’s missing is human kindness. They need to return to compassion instead of status quo incarceration.”
Where was her compassion for the rabbits which suffered and died??
