Offender Name James Michael Duncan Offender E-mail none listed Offender Phone Number none listed Offenders Last Known Address Iron Gate subdivision, Bulloch County Georgia Supporting Evidence - arrest records Details of the offence here Warrants filed against a K9 handler and dog trainer arrested by the Bulloch County Sheriff’s Office shed more light on why the K9 deputy is facing animal cruelty charges. James Michael Duncan was arrested on January 27 on eight counts of misdemeanor Cruelty to Animals. Duncan’s arrest was not connected to his employment at the Candler County Sheriff’s Office, but a review of his POST file indicates this was not his first run-in with the law. Animal cruelty becomes a felony if a person maliciously causes the death of an animal, maliciously causes harm to the extent that the animal is dismembered or has a body part rendered useless, maliciously tortures an animal and subjects them to prolonged or severe pain, a person poisons an animal with malice, or when a person withholds food, water, sanitary conditions and the like and it also results in the death or serious disfiguration of the animal. The felony offense is punishable by one to five years in prison and up to $15,000 in fines. Warrants Filed Against Duncan Each of the warrants outline that Duncan was in control of the animals at the time of the offense – listed as January 22, 2026 – at a home in the Iron Gate subdivision. Public records indicate the home is not owned by Duncan. The warrants also state that Duncan deprived the animals of adequate food, water, sanitary conditions, or ventilation, as outlined in the misdemeanor code section – OCGA 16-12-4(b). Each warrant lists a separate animal located during the investigation, including one German Shepherd mix, a Rottweiler mix, three German Shepherds, and three Plott Hounds. Each of the animals were removed from the premises by the Bulloch County Sheriff’s Office and/or Bulloch County Animal Control. Duncan was booked into the Bulloch County Jail and released the same day on $10,000 bond, as is standard with misdemeanor offenses. The case will be adjudicated in Bulloch County State Court and Duncan’s scheduled to appear in court in mid-March. As of publishing, Duncan had no listed attorney. The charges stem from Duncan’s private venture and not his work with the Candler County Sheriff’s Office. Since 2019, Duncan has operated a private dog training company – Southern Edge K9 – which operated out of a different property in Bulloch County. Records with the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office show 2024 as the last year the company was registered with the state before it was administratively dissolved. Until 2024, the business listed Duncan as the CEO and Joey Coty as the business CFO. In 2024, Coty was removed from the business filings. The Google business listing now shows the business as ‘permanently closed.’ All social media accounts with Southern Edge K9 were deleted shortly before Duncan’s arrest, though tags of the business page on Facebook and social media remain and show his tenure of work in various counties. Terminations and POST Disciplinary Action According to records from the Georgia Peace Officer Standards & Training Council (POST), Duncan obtained his POST certification in 2000 and has worked in law enforcement off and on since that time. He’s been employed by the Bulloch County Sheriff’s Office, the Millen Police Department in Jenkins County, the Wadley Police Department in Jefferson County, the Evans County Sheriff’s Office, the Screven County Sheriff’s Office, and, most recently, the Candler County Sheriff’s Office. Resigned in Lieu of Termination from the Bulloch County Sheriff’s Office POST records show Duncan worked for the Bulloch County Sheriff’s Office from 2001 to 2003. After a 22 month hiatus, Duncan was hired by the Millen Police Department where he worked for four months until he was hired by the Wadley Police Department in April 2005. Duncan was employed with Wadley for ten months. Latest Employment POST records show that Duncan was out of law enforcement for approximately thirteen years. In May 2024, he was hired by Candler County as a ‘Reserve Officer.’ After his arrest, the Candler County Sheriff’s Office said Dunan had been “suspended pending the outcome.” As seen in The Georgia Virtue: https://www.thegeorgiavirtue.com/local-news-south-georgia/warrants-shed-light-on-details-of-k9-deputy-charged-with-animal-cruelty/ Submitted by a verified reporter
Offender Name Christina Fisher Offender E-mail none listed Offender Phone Number none listed Offenders Last Known Address None listed Supporting Evidence - arrest records
Offender Name Scott Wetmore Offender E-mail none listed Offender Phone Number 570 801 3970 Offenders Last Known Address 5286 Rolling Hills Rd Saylorsburg PA 18353 United States Supporting Evidence - NONE Details of the offence here 2 young animals ( 1 cat : 1dog: ) deceased with no cause. 1 older cat : found deceased in guest room. Owner unaware of cat’s passing. No one to oversee the safety of these pets. Latest death was a young ( underweight but healthy) female German shep. Was instructed to bring her back in to recheck in 4 weeks. Didn’t. Learned she was deceased yesterday. ( veterinarian submitting this report) surviving dog and cat: malnourished. This is a neglect situation. Submitted by a verified reporter
Offender Name Michael Terence Sauer Offender E-mail none listed Offender Phone Number none listed Offenders Last Known Address Lexington SC Supporting Evidence - images attached
Offender Name Julia Pickett Evans Offender E-mail none listed Offender Phone Number non e listed Offenders Last Known Address Lexington SC Supporting Evidence - images attached
Offender Name Irma Esteban Offender E-mail irmius12@gmail.com Offender Phone Number (661) 212-3109 Offenders Last Known Address 24747 Chestnut St Newhall, CA, 91321 Supporting Evidence - images attached Describe details of the offence here . Ties up dog in front of trash cans on short leash from 6am-10pm. Then brings him inside to be tied up too. 1/2 block pee walks-- that's it! No interaction, severly neglected. Dirty and unbathed. No water or food bowls. Pet bird is kept the same way 24/7 outdoors even in freezing rain, sometimes no food, visible rotting water, dirty cage. Much much more.
Offender Name Peyton Ferchen Offender E-mail peyton.ferchen@icloud.com Offender Phone Number (331) 223-7962 Offenders Last Known Address 123 Boulder Hill Pass Montgomery, IL, 60538 Supporting Evidence - Reporter has submitted 2 pdf files as supporting evidence. Describe details of the offence here. Jane was one of the dogs we pulled from Clayton GA, they were same day euthanasia's and we did a foster to adopt for this dog Jane. The applicant stuck around for the medical then dipped without paying the adoption fee. This was our last FTA as a result! She had been taking care of the dog so no issue there, last year we got a call she was dumping the dog at another rescue. Due to a miscommunication she dipped before we were able to get there. Today 1/1/2026 I got a call from a local animal control (no they weren't taking the dog in) that a person had brought her in to be scanned. Thankfully that person was able/willing to get back to us and we recovered her but dumping a dog is not an option for us.
Offender Name kinzie wiesender Offender E-mail kinziewiesender@icould.com Offender Phone Number (715) 557-1796 Offenders Last Known Address 1910 aspen drive hudson, wisconsin, 5401 6 Supporting Evide nce - none provided Describe details of the offence here. she got 2 gunnie pigs as a pet as has been neglecting them ever since she had them they ahit on a dirty cage with bugs and she has a history of neglect she had a dog she left at her step dads house and it died due to no care she’s also neglected a cat the same way also following that she had a buddy trapped in a small cage for years that was never cleaned and he was barley feed and water there were bugs all over the cage the bunny got brittle bone long teeth and long nails.
Offender Name Anbthony & Jenny Abeleda Offender Phone Number (925) 752-2719 Offenders Last Known Address Contra Costa94520, California, 94520 Supporting Evidence - None provided yet Describe details of the offence here. instead of taking the dog to his vet to have put to sleep, they dumped him at the contra costa, CA shelter! They got this dog from me (Sierra Pacific Great Pyrenees Rescue) This dog was an old dog and deserved better than being dumped at the contra costa, CA animal shelter. He probably had a medical issue.
Nayani Balboa and her husband, known on Facebook as Tr Sanz, own 5 dogs, at least 3 possibly 4 being huskies. (Against the terms of there home lease) The dogs repeatedly escape as seen on the Facebook posts and this time, the dogs went on a killing spree thru a distant neighborhood after Vanessa McInnis thought she was helping by picking them up in the middle of town and bringing them to an abandoned home next door to her. She was unable to secure them and they wreaked havoc killing people’s pets left and right. Neither the dog owner nor Vanessa own up to making bad decisions. They continue to insist the dogs are nice and friendly and they were heroes that day. It was documented with the Sumter city police and is being assessed they animal control currently. It will be a civil matter. My cat was killed in my own back yard by these two dogs and the lady two doors down lost 3 kittens out of her garage. There were many other victims.
