MEMPHIS, TN – A Memphis animal control officer made her first court appearance on two counts of animal cruelty in connection to an incident last month.
Demetria Hogan took two dogs, Kapone and Jersey, into custody on June 24, 2011. Hogan said she took both dogs to the shelter but police records say video surveillance does not show Kapone ever made it there. Court records also said Hogan left the second dog in the truck for more than four hours.
At the courthouse, Hogan refused to answer reporter’s questions, however her lawyer did.
“All my client has to say is that she didn’t do this and she is not guilty of anything,” said Erika Eubanks, Hogan’s attorney. She went on to say,” The city has been having problems with the shelter for sometime now and this is another situation where they blame the problems on the employees.”
Hogan is also under investigation for a second incident. On July 12th, Hogan went to a call on Hillshire for an injured animal. Sources tell abc24.com while she was on the call, an employee at the shelter tipped her off that police were there to arrest her. Instead of returning to the shelter with the injured dog, as department policy dictates, Hogan stayed in the field for more than two hours. She returned to the shelter only after police were gone, and by then, the dog was dead.
Hogan is a convicted felon with an extensive criminal history. She has a long arrest record of theft, passing bad checks, burglary and identity theft.
She is now suspended with pay. She next court appearance is July 25th.
