MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Humane Society of the Delta said it is suing the city of Helena-West Helena, Arkansas, and Mayor Kevin Smith over its forced closure in October 2021.
The lawsuit claimed the city and mayor “unjustly seized property which forced the closure of the County’s only animal shelter.” And it said the shelter, located at 8480 Phillips Road 300, is not under the jurisdiction of the city or mayor.
Accusations of animal cruelty and director’s arrest
This all comes after Helena-West Helena Police claimed it found inhumane conditions at the shelter in October 2021 after being called by the city’s water department, which was trying to collect on an outstanding water bill of more than $29,000.
After the city said former volunteers reported mistreatment of animals, Helena-West Helena Police and Phillips County deputies executed a search warrant at the shelter and Director Reta Merritt Roberts’ mobile home on the property. They said found 240 dogs and 45 cats, many malnourished and some suffering from infected open wounds. Investigators said several of the animals were in their own excrement and urine, and several rats, both alive and dead, were around the property.
Roberts was arrested and charged at the time with 285 counts of aggravated cruelty to a dog, cat, or horse, which is a Class D Felony. The prosecutor on Robert’s case told ABC24 Monday he just received the file last week and there is currently not a court date set.
Shelter forced to close
The lawsuit said the mayor told city workers to padlock the gates to the privately-owned shelter and would not let the owner, the 18 shelter employees, or legal counsel to enter. It said the mayor and city workers then removed personal property and veterinary supplies belonging to the shelter owner.
The suit goes on to claim that the city never provided funding or support to the shelter, and has no ownership over it or what was inside.
Dispute over large water bill
The lawsuit by the Humane Society of the Delta also focused in part of that disputer water bill. It claimed the bills from the city for May and June of 2021 were way above the shelter’s average use, and that the shelter reported the excessive spikes. The lawsuit said the shelter hired a licensed plumber who found no leaks or problems to account for the sudden increase, “and that it was physically impossible for the piping delivering water to the HSD to deliver that much water even if it ran at full capacity for the entire month.”
The lawsuit said the city water department never assessed the situation or adjusted the bills, and was in violation of state regulations from May to Sept. in 2021.
What is happening now?
The lawsuit said the shelter remains closed as of May 2022, without water service, and that the site has been broken into several times.
“What the Mayor did was not only unjust,” said Gloria Higginbotham, a local business owner that lawsuit said provided funding to the shelter, “but also a huge disservice to the community, which now has nowhere to house and manage its growing population of stray animals. Using the pretext of a disputed water bill, the Mayor unnecessarily shuttered our facility and made the city’s stray animal problem considerably worse, with no alternative solution in sight.”
