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Starnes arrest
The manager of the Newport Friends of the Animal Shelter has been charged with Cruelty to Animals. Cocke County Sheriff Armondo Fontes announced the arrest of Terry Wayne Starnes, 44, of Gatlinburg on Monday. The shelter currently houses animals from Cocke County and those picked up by Cocke County Animal Control. The sheriff said Amy Huff filed a complaint on November 30, after posting pictures of a severely malnourished Red Blood Hound on a social media site. Detective Lt. Josh Hall went to the shelter the following morning and conducted a walkthrough, and he was joined by the sheriff in a continuing investigation. They learned that the dog was surrendered to the shelter in February, adopted out in March and returned to the shelter later that month by the adopter. The dog vetting sheet indicated that the dog was wormed on four occasions thereafter, and was treated with another medication on eight additional occasions. Starnes reported that he had taken the dog to a veterinarian, but did not recall which one and could not produce any vet records. Officers went to the shelter on Saturday to serve subpoenas for records on the dog, Kylar. "Officers did find the conditions in some areas of the shelter to be in poor condition in need of cleaning, and observed dogs underweight and in poor condition," the sheriff said. He said officers worked with other agencies in the investigation. On Monday morning, Deputy Lt. Chris Gregg responded to the shelter after 911 received a call from Myra Wilmot saying she "was being held in a cage" at the shelter. Newport police found her in a hallway, with available exits. Wilmot reportedly had arrived at the shelter as it was being opened, "to look for her lost dog." As Wilmot walked through the shelter photographing the cages, she says Margaret Medders, a shelter employee, scratched her. Medders said when Wilmot began photographing and complaining, she asked Wilmot to leave. Witnesses corroborated the statement of Medders, saying they saw no assault, did not see Wilmot blocked in at any time and confirmed that Medders had asked her to leave. Lt. Gregg said Wilmot was in contact with April Clevenger before she went to the facility and Clevenger, a frequent critic of the shelter, told 911 dispatchers she was on the phone with Wilmot "when she(Wilmot) was attacked," in the shelter. Medders issued a statement saying the report by Lt. Gregg is accurate. "The shelter is going to stand behind one another, we are in this together. For whatever reason, they are trying to shut us down and the county needs the shelter. It was a complete setup and it will all come out in the end. It was just alot of fabricated lies," she said. No charges were filed in the Wilmot complaint.
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