David Mercer

Name:
Mercer, David Lee

Date of Booking:
09/15/2025

Reason(s) For Booking:
CRUELTY TO ANIMALS – M

Officer’s Narrative:
[Please note: The following is a direct transcription from the official initial incident report. The Georgia Gazette does not fix any spelling or grammatical errors that may exist. Any changes or redactions made by our staff are placed inside brackets. Some errors may exist. All subjects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The topics discussed may be sensitive to some readers. Discretion is advised.]

On 09/15/25, I was dispatched to 200 Tanger Outlets Blvd in reference to an animal locked inside a vehicle. It should be noted that the call came in at 6:15 PM; however, due to the high call volume, I arrived on the scene at 6:35 PM.

Upon My Arrival
I observed the following when I arrived on scene,

A silver Toyota 4 Runner (SC:[REDACTED]) was parked and not running. All four windows of the vehicle were just slightly down; the windows were approximately an inch to an inch and a half down. A German Shepherd was in the back seat, panting and drooling at the mouth. The current temperature outside was 80 degrees. It should be noted that the angle the sun was shining into the vehicle was directly towards the backseat where the dog was located.

I would contact Pooler Fire as well as Chatham County Animal Services for assistance on the scene.

The owner of the dog (David Mercer) would arrive at the vehicle when asked how long they had been away from the vehicle. He would state around 15 minutes. When I told him that was incorrect, he would then state 30-45 minutes.

He would believe today it was cool enough outside to leave his dog inside the vehicle.

Pooler Fire would arrive on scene and would use an infrared gun and advise me of the following temperatures inside the vehicle.
98 degrees on the front dash.
93 degrees in the driver’s seat.
106 degrees in the backseat where the dog was located.

Mercer failed to provide proper ventilation for the animal and left the animal in a vehicle at unsafe temperatures for an extended time frame.

I placed Mercer under arrest for cruelty to animals. He was placed into handcuffs, double-locked, and checked for fit. He was searched incident to arrest with no findings.

Ofc. Dishman with Chatham County Animal Control arrived on scene and took custody of the animal.

Mercer wished to leave his vehicle in the parking lot. I would secure the vehicle by locking the doors and rolling the windows up.

Mercer was transported to CCDC for processing.

Mercer was given a bond of $1350.00 and given a court date of 11/6/25 at 10 AM.

[End of Narrative]