Two charged with felony animal cruelty in death of dogs

Published 6:24 pm Tuesday, February 13, 2024

Joey and Ashley Wells were charged with aggravated dog or cat cruelty.

Two Lafayette County residents face felony animal cruelty charges.

On Jan. 23, deputies with the Lafayette County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to a residence on CR 173 for a welfare check on several dogs at the residence.

When the deputies arrived, they found eight dogs at the scene that had been left outside in the sub-freezing weather for approximately a week with inadequate shelter, food and water.

Email newsletter signup

One of the dogs was deceased when the deputies arrived, and another died while they were on the scene.

The dogs were allegedly owned by Joey and Ashley Wells.

Both of the individuals were charged with one count each of Dog or Cat, Aggravated Cruelty.

On Jan. 26, Ashley and Joey were both apprehended on the warrants. They were both booked in at the Lafayette County Detention Center and a Lafayette County Justice Court Judge issued a $20,000 bond for each of them.