LAURENS, SC – A man is accused of starving dogs to death in his yard in Laurens Co., according to deputies.
Markevious Simpson is charged with 3 counts of animal cruelty and giving false information to police.
His bond is set at $15,000.
He was out on bond on domestic violence and one other charge.
Deputies says the dogs at his home had been lying there dead for nearly a week.
Simpson said in court tat he was there to help his grandmother and apologized for not following up on his duty to feed dogs.
The sheriff, Don Reynolds, says it took nearly a week to arrest Simpson due to miscommunication.
He says it is a question of who is responsible to address animal abuse – Animal Control or the Sheriff’s Office?
The Laurens Co. Humane Society put an angry post on Facebook. They claim the sheriff’s office passed the buck to animal control – who told the humane society they no longer had power to act in these cases.
Animal Control is currently a part of Public Works.
When the sheriff came to office, he took away some of those officer’s privledges, including carrying guns.
The sheriff says he wants Animal control under his Jurisdiction, but hasn’t been give proper funding.
He said the matter will likely be taken up by county council to discuss funding and protocol for future cases involving animal abuse.
