Beating neighbor’s dog gets Wright probation

A man who reportedly beat his neighbor’s dog and then threatened the neighbors themselves was placed on probation and warned to stay away from the victims.

The defendant, James W. Wright III, was given an 11-month, 29-day probationary sentence by General Sessions Judge Larry Ross and must also make a $100 contribution to the Warren County Humane Society for assault and cruelty to animals.

Wright was charged after Kendra Butcher said she witnessed the defendant beating her dog with a stick.

‘I was out looking for my dog when I saw him beating my dog with a stick,’ Buckner swore in a warrant against Wright. ‘The dog was lying on the ground, unable to get away.’

Buckner said her dog suffered a knot over its eye and welts on its back and sides and that it whines when she touches it. She also said the dog was having trouble breathing due to the beating.

The incident involving her dog, Buckner maintains, came after Wright threatened her and her friend with a baseball bat as they were walking by his home. She said Wright also threatened to kill her with a butcher knife and that she was afraid he might act on his threats. The incident involving the baseball bat happened over a week before the dog beating.

In giving Wright probation, Judge Ross warned him to stay away from the victims and do no further harm to the dog or face a year in jail. Ross also warned the victims to not have contact with Wright after it was learned Wright is reportedly a witness in a case against one of the women.