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Written by: E. George
Published February 20, 2024 @ 7:50 PM ET
Warning: The following report describes violence against animals.
DECATUR COUNTY, Ga. – A sergeant met with two witnesses at the Decatur County Sheriff’s Office on January 25, 2024, who wished to report a woman for tying up pets and beating them. They showed the sergeant several videos of a 24-year-old Bainbridge woman, Lauren Eugenia Thornton, “beating a cat and also a puppy with her hands and what appeared to be a belt.”
The sergeant noted that one video revealed, “Thornton holding a white in color puppy down and beating it with a belt.” Another showed her “tying a cat’s front legs together and slapping the cat in its head, then dragging the cat across the floor, picking it up by the throat, and slapping it in the face.”
She “then placed her knees on the cat’s throat and started slapping the cat.” In the video, Thornton stated, “It’s not hurting him; he can breathe.”
One video displayed “the cat’s front legs tied to a dresser and the cat trying to get free.” The witnesses sent the videos to the sergeant to be uploaded and entered into evidence.
The sergeant submitted felony warrants for Thornton. The following day, on January 26, law enforcement arrested Thornton and charged her with two counts of cruelty to animals.
This case is pending in court.
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 Thursday, January 25, 2024 at approximately 1630 hours, Sgt Charles King was located at 912 Spring Creek Road (Decatur County Sheriff’s Office), Bainbridge, Decatur County, Georgia.
While there, [WITNESS #1] and [WITNESS #2] wanted to report animal cruelty. [WITNESS #1] showed Sgt. King several videos of Lauren Thornton beating a cat an also a puppy with her hands and what appeared to be a belt. One video showed Thornton holding a white in color puppy down and beating it with a belt. [WITNESS #1] showed a video of Thornton tying a cat’s front legs together and slapping the cat in its head then dragging the cat across the floor picking it up by the throat and slapping it in the face. Thornton then placed her knees on the cat’s throat and started slapping the cat. Thornton stated it’s not hurting him, he can breathe. On one of the videos shows the cat front legs tied to a dresser and the cat trying to get free.
Sgt. King had [WITNESS #1] send all videos to Sgt. King ‘s work phone. Sgt. King up-loaded the videos to Axon for evidence.
Sgt. King will seek felony warrants for aggravated cruelty to animals.
[End of Narrative]
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