Total rises to 115 dogs
Devecio Ranard Rowland faces 70 counts of cruelty to animals
Eight more dogs have been added to the tally and brings the total to 115 founds in connection with a animal cruelty case that began last week and grew as two more sites containing pups were found.
Only one man has been charged thus far in the case that began on Aug. 28 when officers went to the foreclosed property and found 72 dogs on at 569 Cashtown Road.
Devecio Ranard Rowland, 32, now of a Jones Avenue address r emained in jail without bail being set as of Saturday morning on 70 misdemeanor counts of cruelty to animals, plus felony counts of probation violation, a single charge of aggravated cruelty to animals and conspiracy to commit a felony.
The following day on Aug. 29, police went to a Puckett Road address and found 35 more dogs in connection to the investigation, and then on Sept. 1 a final investigatory step found eight more dogs — a mother and seven puppies — at a Rockmart apartment.
Police Chief Kenny Dodd said information developed through the week lead officers to find the additional dogs following an initial tip that sent police out to the Cashtown Road address.
Earlier last week, Dodd called it “one of the worst cases of animal cruelty” that the Polk County Police Department had ever seen, and the department was on social media posting pictures and videos of the dogs tied up to trees all over two different properties.
According to a press release from Polk County Animal Control late Friday, the dogs are all “safe, well fed, watered and ( are) being taken care of.”
“Cherokee County, Alabama also provided a veterinarian and their Animal Control Director to assist with the evaluation of the dogs,” the release stated. “Without the help of all these different agencies we could not have experienced the successful outcome that we have.”
Only a portion of the dogs have thus far gone to rescues from the original 72, and animal control facilities all around and including Polk are housing the dogs until all of them can find homes.
That excludes the 35 found at the Puckett Road property where a group was kept, which thus far Dodd said Rowland has refused to release to the county. Initially the figure was reported as 70 at the Cashtown Road site, but the total went up by two more dogs as they were brought out individually, Dodd explained.
The totals changed throughout the week, and at last count 58 of the 72 had yet been taken in by rescue groups. The additional eight dogs to the tally will also need rescue groups. Dodd said that these aren’t dogs that can be taken in by just anyone, either.
“People also need to understand that we can’t just turn these dogs over to anyone, they have to go to a licensed rescue that has experience with handling these kinds of dogs,” Dodd said. “They need rehabilitation before they can go to a new owner.”
The full list of those who have taken in dogs so far, according to the Sept. 1 press release, included Homes 4- ever rescue, Pickens Animal Rescue, Barktown Dog Rescue Sanctuary, Cedartown Animal Rescue, Education and Sterilization (Cares), Paulding County Animal Control, Douglas County Animal Shelter, Bartow County Animal Control, Floyd County Animal Control, Cherokee County Alabama Animal Control and Veterinarian, Pibbles & More, Dog Days, Angels Among Us, Friends of Polk AC, Ruff Rescue.
Dodd said investigators want to keep the group of 35 found at Puckett Road close to Polk County for the time being in order to keep track of their healing progress and for evi- dentiary purposes as the case continues to develop.
Police were out most of the week at both Cashtown Road and Puckett Road either with the dogs as they waited for groups to help come find the dogs immediate shelter, or in collecting evidence.
District Attorney Jack Browning said he would be opposing any bond in the case, citing a previous charge against Rowland in the case. He added his office has already been involved in the case as well.
“On this case, our office was contacted by Polk County Police Department to come to the crime scene as the investigation began, to provide prosecution assistance and support to law enforcement investigators to ensure that, this time, justice is done for these poor defenseless dogs and the case against Mr. Rowland a solid one,” Browning said.
Rowland was previously charged with possession of marijuana and a controlled substance, dog fighting and cruelty to animals in a 2010 case that was set to go to trial after others had plead guilty to charges they faced in relation with it.
In 2010 police raided the Cashtown Road address. It was a result of an investigation prompted by a tip in February to an Atlanta private investigation firm, Norred and Associates, who brought their evidence at the time to the Polk County Police Department.
Browning said the previous case against Rowland was set to make it to court in 2012 after he took office, but when a key witness in the case died they lost much of the evidence they planned to present at trial via testimony.