Nickalous Payton

Name:
Payton, Nickalous Lee

Date of Booking:
06/26/2026

Reason(s) For Booking:
Cruelty To Animals

Cruelty To Animals

Cruelty To Animals

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 06/26/26, I responded to the Whitfield Extended Stay due to reports of neglected animals in the back of a pickup truck.

Upon arrival, I located a silver Dodge Ram, tag [REDACTED BY AGENCY], belonging to a male identified as Nickalous Payton. In the bed of the truck, there were two rusted cages with three malnourished pit bulls in two of the cages. I observed there was no food or water in the cages, the dogs were lying in feces, and the cages were zip-tied closed. The dogs ribs were showing and their spines from being so malnourished.

Two of the pit bulls were lying on the cage floor panting and were barely responsive. One of the pit bulls was defensive and barked at me as I approached. This pit bull was also panting. The dogs were in direct sunlight. They were covered in dirt, and one of the pit bulls had an infected wound on its right ear.

I then made contact with the complainant, who lived in apartment [REDACTED BY AGENCY], identified as [WITNESS #1]. [WITNESS #1] stated the dogs had been in the cages for the past three days without food or water. [WITNESS #1] reported that approximately 01:00-01:50 on 06/26/26, Nickalous pulled out the biggest pit bull, met with a white male in the parking lot who also had a dog, and they had the two dogs fight in the parking lot. [WITNESS #1] stated that she cussed and screamed at Nickalous, which caused them to stop the dog fight.

I later reviewed surveillance footage. The dog fight was not captured on video, but the video showed Nickalous picking up one of the pit bulls by a metal prong collar without supporting its body weight and throwing the female dog into the cage.

Prior to making contact with Nickalous, I went to the front office to determine which room he was staying in. The manager of the Whitfield Extended Stay stated that Nickalous should not be on the property and did not have a room, but if he were in any room, he would be in room [REDACTED BY AGENCY] with his girlfriend, identified as [REDACTED].

At this time, Officer Shope arrived on scene, and we made contact with Nickalous and [REDACTED]. Both individuals were sleeping in the room while the dogs were outside in the bed of the truck in 82°f weather with no shade, water, or food. Nickalous confirmed that the dogs were his. When asked why they were out in direct sunlight without food or water, he stated, “They are fine and have been through worse.” When I confronted him about the dog fighting, he denied any involvement.

Nickalous stated he had attempted to give the dogs away for free at Walmart but was removed from the property by law enforcement. He reported that he had owned the mother pit bull for approximately four years. He stated that he had bred them in the past and that the other two malnourished pit bulls were the puppies of the female pit bull.

Due to the obvious signs of neglect, I placed Nickalous in custody for animal cruelty. I placed him in handcuffs, double-locked both cuffs, and escorted him to the front of my patrol car. I searched his person and did not locate any contraband. I then secured Nickalous in the back seat of my patrol car and read him his miranda rights. He continued speaking and answering questions about the incident.

I Asked when he last gave the dogs food and water, and he stated about an hour prior to our arrival. This was inconsistent with the dryness of the water bowl and the fact that one of the pit bulls did not have a food or water bowl in its cage at all.

Prior to escorting Nickalous, while I was interviewing him outside the room, I noticed they had another dog inside the room that was healthy, had food and water in plain sight, and had air conditioning. This was something not provided to the dogs outside and showed that Nickalous knew how to care for an animal but was choosing not to.

I then transferred Nickalous to WCSO. Upon arrival at the sally port, I secured my department-issued firearm in the weapons locker. I escorted Nickalous into the jail and transferred him to booking staff. Prior to escorting him into the jail, I inspected my back seat for any contraband and did not locate any. I then returned to the sally port, retrieved my department-issued firearm, and again inspected the back seat for any contraband, not locating any.

I filled out an online warrant for 3 counts of animal cruelty in the 1st degree and had it signed by Judge Griffin. I returned to the jail and served Nickalous with this warrant.

While on scene, management at Whitfield Extended Stay stated they wanted Nickalous trespassed from the property. Nickalous is trespassed from 2220 Chattanooga Rd as of 06/26/26.

Warrant #w26-1085
3 counts-16-12-4 Cruelty to animals in the 1st degree

[End of Narrative]