Michael Thornton

Name:
Thornton, Michael Robert

Date of Booking:
02/05/2026

Reason(s) For Booking:
CRUELTY TO ANIMALS – 37 counts

CRUELTY TO CHILDREN-CAUSES EXCESSIVE PHYSICAL OR MENTAL PAIN – 1ST DEGREE

CRUELTY TO CHILDREN-CAUSES EXCESSIVE PHYSICAL OR MENTAL PAIN – 1ST DEGREE

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.]

[NARRATIVE #1 on January 20, 2026]

On 1/20/2026, I attempted to make contact with Michael and Jessica Thornton in reference to possible poor living conditions for their children, [VICTIM #1] (11yoa) and [VICTIM #2] (15yoa). I spoke with the parents and explained to the family why I was there. Michael and Jessica were very vocal about not wanting me there and they are tired of being harassed by law enforcement and the school.

Armuchee High School social workers have had concerns about the 2 children, since January 7th, 2026. According to staff, [VICTIM #1] and [VICTIM #2] had a very strong, foul odor about them on a daily basis and [VICTIM #2] came to school on more than one occasion with animal feces on his shoes and bookbag.

Michael and Jessica advised me that a DFCS case worker had already come by and conducted a walk through of the home and advised them of what they needed to do in order to satisfy them. According to the parents, DFCS advised them to clean up the kitchen area and get rid of a few things. I advised the parents that I don’t have anything to do with DFCS and that I needed to check the conditions myself. Michael advised he works nights and sleeps during the day and asked if I could come back a few days later. I ended up not going to the home on the agreed upon date due to unrelated reasons.

The children also reported to the school that they have 14 dogs. According to the social worker, [REDACTED], the children were reenrolled on January 7, 2026, coming from being home schooled. Per history, parents, Michael and Jessica Thornton, enrolled them in school 1/16/2024 and withdrew them 3/19/24 to home school.

Michael and Jessica decided to home school after school staff voiced their concerns of the same nature, allegedly. I had been advised that the parents were very standoffish and were not open to conversations or questions regarding their home or children. I was able to make contact with Michael and Jessica on 2/4/26 I explained that I just wanted to see the inside of the home to confirm or dispel the allegations of an unfit environment.

On 2/4/2026 I called Michael and advised him that I needed to see the house and that I wasn’t far away. Michael agreed to let me in the house. I arrived at [900 BLOCK] Old Dalton Rd shortly after. The children were at school. Pfc. Lanier and I conducted a walk though of the residence. I entered the home through the front door into the living room. The smell of feces and urine was extremely overwhelming to the point where it was hard to breathe. There were so many dogs barking that I could barely hear anyone talking.

Pfc. Lanier had to advise dispatch to discontinue communication due to not being able to hear over the barking. I continued to walk through the living room and observed that there were only a few pieces of furniture in the main area. There was a china cabinet storing food, an empty china cabinet and a small bed with a thin mattress on it where Jessica’s grandfather, [REDACTED] sleeps. The mattress was a very dingy brown with at least one whole in it that appeared to have been from either a dog or a rodent. There were two large trash cans in the living area along with at least one shop-vac.

There were multiple propane tanks in the common area and in other areas of the home. To the left of the entryway, in a “dining area” there were a couple of kennels, one empty and one containing 2 dogs. There were multiple loose dogs in the house as well. I continued through the living area and into the kitchen. There were a couple of dressers on one end of the kitchen, near the back door. There were large plastic tote containers on top of the dressers to make, what looked like, a wall.

I asked Michael what was behind the furniture and containers and he advised that it was more kennels. I wasn’t able to see back there without moving the furniture. I did, however, observe multiple puppies, white and white spotted puppies. The puppies appeared to be about 2-3 weeks old. I couldn’t see all of them at that time without moving bulky furniture. I asked Michael how many puppies there were and he advised he wasn’t sure because they came from three different female dogs and some had already passed away.

The kitchen was dirty and the counter tops were completely covered with dirty dishes, trash, alcohol bottles and other debris. There was a fridge and stove in the kitchen and a random washer/dryer sitting in the middle of the kitchen. It was at this time that Michael was explaining that the DFCS worker had advised them to clean up the kitchen counters, remove the washer/dryer and the plastic bins needed to be moved to the garage. I observed a plethora of cleaning supplies all over the home, but it was obvious they weren’t taking advantage of them.

Through the kitchen was Michael and Jessica’s bedroom. There were a couple of dogs in that bedroom. Michael opened the door to let me check and I observed that there was a large mound of clothing, debris and other misc. objects that took up the entire floor from the right of the threshold all the way to the right wall and extended around the entire right side of the room. I observed a nightstand to the right of the bed. The bed itself had small piles of clothing on it as well as a few other objects. There is a dresser to the left of the threshold with the top of the dresser completely covered with trash items. To the left of the bed was a nightstand covered with trash and food.

There were several travel size Jagermeister bottles in the drawer of this nightstand. I couldn’t see too much more of the room at this point because Michael was standing to left of the bed with the dogs and there was no room to get by. It was also getting harder to breathe due to the ammonia and feces. There were piles of dog feces all over the flooring throughout the home, in different states of consistency and rot. Through the living room to the other side of the house were the children’s bedrooms. To my immediate right, in the hallway, is [VICTIM #1] room.

The floor was dingy and filthy. There was a puppy pad in the corner with several piles of dog feces on it and the floor. The walls and door are smeared with a brown substance that I have every reason to believe is feces. There was a bunk bed in this room. Down the hall is a bathroom. Again, the area of the door right around the knob is smeared with a brown substance. Just past the bathroom was [VICTIM #2] bedroom that Michael advised was “under complete construction”. I asked where [VICTIM #2] sleeps and Michael advised he has a “bed” he pulls out into the living room to sleep on. We exited the residence quickly because of the smell and mess.

Due to the conditions of the home, and the history of the family with DFCS and the schools, I secured arrest warrants for Michael and Jessica as well as a search warrant for the home. I spoke with the DFCS case worker [REDACTED] after I completed the walk through of the home to confirm that the living conditions are deplorable, to which she advised she was aware of as she had been in the home the week before.

[REDACTED] advised that she has had previous cases with the family in the past for the same reasons, but that they had always cleaned up just enough to be able to close the case. [REDACTED] advised me that she was planning on closing the case on 2/6/2026, due to compliance from the family. I advised [REDACTED] that there’s no way they would be nowhere close to be able to clean that house up.

[REDACTED] continued to advise me that she was fully aware how bad the conditions were. I advised her at that time that I would be taking arrest warrants for Michael and Jessica for Cruelty to Children 1st Degree as well as animal cruelty for however many dogs are in the home. I advised [REDACTED] that I was advising of this so far in advance so that DFCS would be aware that the children will be needing placement because they won’t be able to go back to the home.

[REDACTED] asked me if I was going to find placement or does she need to let the parents know about the warrants and asked who they want the kids to go with. I told her I will not be finding placement for the children and I absolutely do not want her to advise the parents that they will be charged. I received a call from [REDACTED]’s supervisor asking if I could explain why they will be arrested and how it justifies criminal charges. I advised it is because the poor and unsanitary living conditions, which are, per law, a violation.

I advised I could send her the code section if she wanted it, but my offer was declined. I advised that I have been in contact with the school as well and we agreed to keep the children after school while the arrests were being made. I advised I would keep DFCS up to date throughout the process.

On 2/5/2026, prior to executing the warrants, I coordinated with Animal Control, DFCS, School Social Workers and Building Inspection as they would all be needed after the parents were placed in custody. While en route to the residence, I advised DFCS that I’m taking custody of the children so DFCS would have to get an order for custody. I met Pfc. Lanier at AHS and then we headed over to [900 BLOCK] Old Dalton Rd.

Pfc. Lanier and I knocked on the front door, but we couldn’t get a response. All of a sudden, Jessica came walking from the garage up towards the front door. I placed her in handcuffs. I asked her if she had anything on her that would hurt me, but she wouldn’t answer. As I walk her around the house to the vehicles I heard yelling coming from the garage. Pfc. Lanier had placed Michael in handcuffs, but Michael pulled away from Pfc. Lanier in the process.

[REDACTED] arrived on scene at this time. Michael continued yelling, asking what was going on. Pfc. Shelly arrived on scene to assist in the transport. I explained what the charges for them will be and they immediately started yelling and saying that they didn’t do anything wrong, the house wasn’t like that the day before, DFCS said it was okay and that they had done everything that was asked of them. Michael advised that DFCS was planning on closing their case the next day. Jessica advised loudly that they weren’t going to be saying anything else without their lawyer. I placed Jessica in the backseat of Pfc. Shelly’s patrol car for transport.

I asked Michael if he wanted to or would talk to me and if he did then I would read him his rights. Michael advised it wouldn’t do any good either way. Michael continued yelling and arguing with Pfc. Lanier, telling him he was “one of those as*hole cops he sees on social media.” Michael demanded to see the search warrant and that he knows his rights. I showed him his copy of the search warrant and eventually left it on the table in the kitchen in plain sight.

Pfc. Sangphim arrived on scene to transport Michael. Michael was placed in the backseat of Pfc. Sangphim’s patrol vehicle. [REDACTED] spoke with Michael, trying to get names of placements for children, however, that was the only time he mentioned the children. Michael seemed more worried about his dogs than anything else.

Animal Control arrived on scene. Michael advised that his wife had family in Lindale that the kids could stay with. I got the name and number for [REDACTED], maternal grandmother, to see if she would take the children. Michael and Jessica’s grandfather, [REDACTED] were trying to decide on which dogs they wanted to keep. [REDACTED], from what I’ve been told, has dementia. I contacted Agency for the Aging and Adult Protective services, but there was nothing they could do at the time.

[REDACTED] arrived on scene to take some of the dogs with them and to check on her father, [REDACTED]. [REDACTED] advised me that [REDACTED] would be going with her, despite him telling me that he wants to stay at the house. Pfc. Lanier and I completed a walk through of the home, along with Animal Control. The home was in the same condition as the day before. I was able to search further into the home, per search warrant. The bathroom in Michael and Jessica’s room was completely disgusting. The floor was covered with feces. There was potty chair in the bathroom as well, but it was surrounded by feces.

[VICTIM #2] had a dresser in the middle of the floor and a small thin mattress that was provided to the family by an outside resource. The mattress had feces on the bed in the shape of paw prints. There was a blue five gallon bucket in the floor near the mattress with an unidentified brown liquid in it. The threshold into the closet was covered in, what appeared to be, insect and rat feces. There was a Frebeze air freshener can in the scent “ocean” in [VICTIM #2] room. Pfc. Lanier advised that [VICTIM #2] said his mom and dad was spraying him with something that smelled like mints. The closets in both children’s rooms had no clothing in them.

Michael was later transported to the Floyd County Jail for booking. Animal Control came in and searched the house for all of the animals. There were a total of 37 dogs in the home, all of which were seized by AC. After both parents were removed, I called Building Inspection, who had been staging nearby, to advised them to come over to the residence.

[REDACTED] walked through the home taking pictures and notes. [REDACTED] advised he is affixing a red notice to close the property. Pfc. Lanier and I had the case worker come inside to assess the condition. [REDACTED] took some pictures and agreed she knew it was in this condition. [REDACTED] ended up taking 4 of the 37 dogs with her.

The children met at the school by school Social Worker [REDACTED] and [REDACTED]. Per [REDACTED], [REDACTED] told the children, who were already traumatized, that she was planning on closing their case the following day, but law enforcement got involved and now they can’t go home. The children were taken out of Floyd County Schools the following week, by the parents and allegedly being enrolled in Bartow County schools. The children are no staying with family in Bartow County.

[End of Narrative]

[NARRATIVE #2 on February 10, 2026]

On the above date and time, both Mr. and Mrs. THORTON came to Armurchee Elementary school, and Armurchee High School to withdraw both [VICTIM #2] and [VICTIM #1] from school. I called and spoke with the DFCS case worker [REDACTED] to verify that DFCS was aware of the situation and she informed me they were, and that the temporary guardian of the child (who was with Mr. and Mrs. THORTON) was with the parents, they were allowed to withdraw the children from school with the temporary guardian. The conversation with DFCS was recorded on my BWC. This report was made for documentation purposes.

[End of Narrative]

[NARRATIVE #3 on February 17, 2026]

On 2/17/26, I spoke with [REDACTED] regarding the care of her father, [REDACTED]. I asked who is responsible for getting her father to and from his doctor’s appointments and she advised that Jessica takes him to and from and that she is not aware of her father having Dementia or any diagnoses of it. No charges to come for Elder Neglect or Abuse.

On 2/17/26, I spoke with [REDACTED] who advised the just got records requests from Woodland HS and Euharlee Elem. School for the children.

On 2/17/26, I requested from Bartow County to have an officer go out to the address where the children are staying with family friends, [REDACTED] and [REDACTED], for a welfare check. The deputy called me after the check and advised everything seemed fine. The home was reported to be clean, but messy home, the children have clothing and bunk beds as well as other children to play/socialize with. I also spoke with the DFCS case worker regarding where the parents are staying, she advised they are couch surfing.

[End of Narrative]