SUPERIOR COURT
One of two defendants in an animal cruelty case entered received a sentence of 15 years following the entry of a guilty plea.
Lisa Michelle Barnes entered her plea Feb. 15 in Jones County Superior Court. She was sentenced to five years for each of four counts of aggravated cruelty to animals. Count one is to run concurrently, but the other three counts are to run consecutively for a total of 15 years. The first 60 days of the sentence are to be served in confinement, and the remainder of the sentence is to be served on probation.
Barnes was indicted on the offenses with co-defendant Bryan Hayward Bass by a Jones County Grand Jury Oct. 10, 2023.
A report of the incident leading to the arrests of Barnes and Bass by Gray Police Lt. Thaxton Pennamon stated that he was dispatched to a residence on Turnerwoods Road July 3, 2023, to make contact with the homeowner. The complainant told him he went into the rental property to make sure the renters had moved out per a court order.
The owner had a key but said the lock on the front door had been changed. He was able however to make entrance through another door that had not been secured.
The complainant said no one was at the residence.
He told Pennamon he found a room that was barricaded and had to force his way in. Inside that room the owner found the bodies of several dead dogs that had already started to decay.
Pennamon said he went into the residence and found four dead dogs and what appeared to be a puppy lying under one. He went into the bathroom and saw another dog bone behind the door in a linen closet.
The lieutenant said the floor was full of animal feces, which was also in other parts of the house. Pennamon said warrants were issued for the renters, Barnes and Bass.
Gray Police Officer Dylan Joiner went to the Turnerwoods Road residence July 6 to photograph the scene. Joiner said he could smell a strong odor before entering the home. He said he observed dog feces and urine throughout the house.
The officer said he observed three deceased dogs in one bedroom and another behind the door. He said two others were lying closer to each other with one on a mattress. He said all the animals appeared to have been deceased for some time and were in various states of decay.
