Thomas may face hundreds of charges after roundup

Authorities are finishing up the task of rounding up the remaining live and dead cattle from farmland outside of Wartrace, which may result in 500 to 600 counts of aggravated animal cruelty against the man said to be responsible for the herd.

John Darron Thomas 43, of Clyde Gleaves Road, who was charged nearly two weeks ago with animal cruelty after deputies discovered dead and starved cattle on his farm, faces more counts as soon as the final tally is completed.

According to Sheriff Randall Boyce, only two cows remain to be caught, with deputies taking away 13 live head on Monday that they had trapped.

Over 600 live cattle have now been found and rounded up, Boyce said.

Boyce said they still don't have an exact count of how many dead cattle have been found, but he estimated the number to be between 160 and 170 fresh carcasses. He said he would have an exact count later in the week.

The sheriff also said that three semi trailer loads of dead cattle have been removed so far from the Thomas property.

An additional 47 carcasses were in the process of being loaded on Monday by Griffin Industries with the assistance of volunteers, neighbors, deputies and inmate labor, Boyce explained.

Depends on condition

Boyce said that cows were not the only animals found. About 50 donkeys were taken from the property as well, which the sheriff also described as starved, as well as the carcass of one donkey.

Thomas already faces a number of charges in Circuit Court after his indictment on Monday (see related story), but the animal cruelty charges, which could number as many as 500 to 600, Boyce said, will go through General Session Court first.

Boyce explained that the body weight of the live cattle will be checked, and "anything below a certain score ... it will be considered animal cruelty too, plus the exact number of the dead."

The sheriff estimated that about 75 to 100 live head won't be included in the cruelty charges, but also said that Thomas could face as many 670 counts of cruelty.

Boyce said that a judicial commissioner will begin filing warrants in the case as soon as a final count is reached.

But those charges will not include any counts that will be filed by the state department of agriculture for not properly disposing of the dead cattle, Boyce said.

Boyce explained that Thomas, who is currently free on $1,079,500 bond, will likely have to make another bond once the new charges are filed.

Other charges

Warrants out of Coffee County for six counts of animal cruelty state that deputies in that county have been responding to a number of reports of cattle running at large since November 2009 and that carcasses were recently disposed of by Griffin Industries.

An autopsy on the remains stated that the cattle were severely dehydrated and emaciated.

Boyce explained last week that Thomas has already been told to keep the cattle off the roads near his land or they would be taken from him.

Thomas told the Associated Press last week that he knows of only 21 dead cattle, claiming that deputies are counting the bones of long-dead animals on the 1,600 acres where his family has raised cattle since the 1960s.

But Boyce repeated Monday that deputies have been discovering entire carcasses, not bones, with some of the remains found only being a month old at the most.

New autopsy reports were also returned to authorities last week on the remains of 11 cows from the Thomas property that state they all died of starvation, Boyce said.

The sheriff said that all of the carcasses inspected by veterinarians were those of yearlings -- not older cows that would have died of natural causes.

Thomas has claimed that his cows were shot after he filed a $6 million federal lawsuit against the county, the Sheriff's Department, Boyce and Deputies Ben Burris, Kent Jacobs and Kevin Roddy.

He claims that he has been pulled over approximately 20 times with no convictions and that deputies have harassed and kidnapped him.

The federal suit filed by Thomas claims that the county officers have conspired to arrest him and caused false imprisonment for retribution for his interfering with the relationship of Jacobs and his girlfriend.

Thomas repeatedly denied two weeks ago that his cows had been starved, even when asked about the results of autopsies Thomas himself requested for the cattle, which stated the cows were severely dehydrated and emaciated.