| Fox 5 News Atlanta | WMAZ TV 13 Macon | |||
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PETA's letter to District Attorney Clifton Woody June 29, 2007 The Honorable Clifton Woody Dear Mr. Woody: PETA is the world's largest animal rights organization, with more than 1.6 million members and supporters dedicated to animal protection. This letter concerns a recent case of cruelty to animals that your office is handling, involving Jason Allmon, 35, of Byron. Allmon faces charges stemming from his alleged fatal shooting of Zoe, an 8-month-old Siberian husky mix who belonged to Allmon's next door neighbors, the Smisson family. Allmon reportedly shot Zoe at least 12 times with a silencer-equipped handgun after she wandered onto his property. Mrs. Smisson -- who says she heard Zoe's cries and found her lying wounded in Allmon's yard -- reported to PETA that just before firing two bullets into Zoe's head, Allmon told Mrs. Smisson, "You had this coming." Mental health professionals and top law enforcement officials consider the blatant disregard for life and desensitization to suffering evidenced by all forms of cruelty to animals to be a red flag. In fact, the American Psychiatric Association identifies cruelty to animals as one of the diagnostic criteria for conduct disorders, and the FBI uses reports of these crimes in analyzing the threat potential of suspected and known criminals. Experts agree that it is the severity of the behavior -- not the species of the victim -- that matters. On behalf of our members and supporters in Georgia, we respectfully ask that, if convicted and in addition to serving a period of incarceration, Allmon be required to undergo a thorough psychological evaluation followed by mandatory counseling at his own expense. Because repeat crimes are the rule rather than the exception among animal abusers and given the violent and depraved nature of this crime, we implore your office to take every measure necessary to ensure that the defendant, if convicted, is barred from possessing animals for as long as possible and that all animals who may be in his charge are immediately seized. Thank you for your diligence in this matter and for your time and consideration. Sincerely,
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WMGT TV 41 Macon New Twist to Dog Death |
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You can pass this back to whoever sent it to
you: The act of killing this dog, while being grotesque and
inhumane, did not, whatsoever, involve the use of any type of
hammer. 13WMAZ-TV out of Macon, Georgia aired a retraction to this
fact last week during the 6:00 news. The killing of the animal
involved the use of two separate handguns. One handgun was
used with a silencer and the other did not. Both weapons were
taken and are being held as evidence. The suspect was arrested by
The Byron Police and charged with: Discharging a firearm in a
residential area and Felony Cruelty to animals. As procedure
warrants, the suspect was booked and transported to the Peach County
Law Enforcement Center in Fort Valley, Georgia where he stayed for
nearly 24 hours. He was given a bond by the Peach County Magistrate
Judge. The suspect made bond and returned to his residence. Neither
the Byron Police nor any other Law Enforcement Agency within the
State of Georgia can control whether or not any judge sets a bond
for anyone charged with any type of crime. If it were up to us, the
jails would always stay full and suspects who commit crimes of this
nature would have to sit in jail until their court date. |
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Mr Lavender, I received a copy of this letter you wrote in reply to an email you had received? My name is Toni Smisson. I would like to clarify how the hammer came into the incident. No one has taken a statement and things were chaos the night of the incident. I was severely traumatized, I cannot even remember much of what happened after he shot her the final time/s. and it has taken me days to even realize what actually happened. I heard Zoie crying , When I ran outside, Jason was walking away from the fence, he looked over his shoulder and said something like I just killed your dog, I was sure he had added "with a hammer" but I went into shock I started shaking and pushed the portable dog house up against the larger doghouse. I tried to climb up, I could hear her crying right on the other side of the fence, and I fell off. I tried again and got up and looked over the fence below me to the left a few feet was Zoie. I could not look away, I was horrified, she had wounds to her head and was twitching, Jason walked back over and I guess my son came up behind me at the same time. my son saw something in his hand and commented he thought it was a hammer as we had heard no other shots, Jason then shot Zoie once or twice in the head. I think it was two, but I was very upset. by the time I got out front I was convinced he had to have used a tool or hammer as my son had thought he had seen one and we had heard no other shots. he told my mother in law later that night, he had seen something long and cylindrical and black in Jason's hand when he walked over with the gun. The officer told us he hadn't seen a hammer in the video but part of the incident was off camera. I didn't know about the silencer until Friday when I called. As for the trucks, someone came within hours of the incident, while Jason was still in jail and turned the trucks around in the street revving the engines and then they parked them facing our fence in the back yard. It was very unusual and aggressively done. My mother and father in law as well as a respected attorney and his wife were out front at the time. They had left a family reunion to come to our aid. Which brings me to the next part of your letter I would like to address. I had come to Chief Cannon for help. He tried to help, I believe, Jason stopped shooting his paintball gun which for some reason terrified the dogs, he didn't verbally assault me in my front yard anymore, he stopped letting off explosions in his yard, although he did put up a device that transmitted ultrasonic frequencies or signals into my yard. I know you wouldn't mind your ears vibrating from a device your neighbor would point into your yard, but I did. He is a large man, very aggressive. I asked for help, no one helped. Chief Cannon calls this a feud, which is unbelievable. I am stunned, how is it a feud, I only stood up for myself. he has terrorized us by killing our pets and acting in an aggressive and threatening manner since my husband left everything I did was defensive, including pouring the Sunkist on the device from my own yard. I have an old dog and she was going to have a stroke barking at it. It must have irritated her ears and she was going to have a stroke. The device is still there and still pointed into my yard and still working. I put up a board to block it and Jason yelled at me for that. I am in dog training, I had started 2 months ago and jet was doing very well. He had not jumped the fence in a long time and we were sharing what we learned with Zoie. I used to have 6 dogs, two were adopted and a third is up for adoption. The outrage to me, is that I went to the police for help, to the judge in January, after Jason admitted to disposing of my cats, the judge told him he wasn't a bad guy. I begged and pleaded for criminal harassment charges or animal cruelty charges and was ignored and dismissed. I filed complaints only when absolutely necessary. I did not try to give a false impression with my statement about the hammer. The hammer turned out to be the silencer. I also cannot see how everyone can feel I am safe, when I know I am not. He hurt her because we loved her. He is disturbed. We will never be safe if he knows where we are. I am getting the house on the market ASAP. But I nor my children are safe.
Toni Smisson
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Lt. Lavender, Am I supposed to feel better that the facts indicate a man shot 14 times with two different pistols and one with a silencer attached? Where did every single bullet go? Into Zoie? A hammer may have been more humane, what kind of marksman can’t kill a dog at that range with one shot? Did he want her to suffer? Who besides a marksman, law enforcement officer or military would have a silencer much less use one while committing a felony? Did you check? Have you looked at the fence, our house, the neighbor’s house, trees, and other areas? Did you take a statement from Toni or Andrew as to weather he threatened them? Do you consider the fact that a man with two firearms and a silencer firing 14 times right in front of them is a threat? Was Jason in every frame of the video and my family members? Are you absolutely sure he didn’t threaten them? Even verbally, with a weapon, gesture, trucks, or other means, on/off camera? Has it entered anyone’s mind as to how easily a single bullet could have hit my family or someone else? How many weapons are registered to this man? Does he still have them? Does child abuse come into play when you consider the violence exposed to them? Has anyone thought about it?
Sincerely, Walt Smisson
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