Former Madison County Sheriff's Office deputy and K9 handler Chloe Swann was arrested Thursday morning in connection with the September death of K9 Bart, WBBJ 7 Eyewitness News reported.
Jail records cited by the station show she was booked around 6 a.m. on one charge of aggravated cruelty to animals. Her bond was set at $5,000, and she is scheduled to appear for arraignment in Circuit Court on Nov. 9. Talk-N West TN published a statement from District Attorney General Jody S. Pickens identifying her as Chloe Megan Swann and setting the arraignment in Division III at 8:30 a.m.
Pickens said that on Nov. 2 his office sought, and the Madison County Grand Jury returned, an indictment in the Sept. 18-19 death of K9 Bart. The indictment charges Swann with one count of aggravated cruelty to animals, a Class E felony that carries a potential penalty of one to two years in the custody of the Tennessee Department of Correction and a fine of up to $3,000.
Pickens said that because the case is an active prosecution, he would have no further comment. He noted that an indictment is an accusation and that a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Sheriff Julian Wiser had previously said Swann left Bart unattended in an outdoor kennel without water for about 36 hours as temperatures climbed past 100 degrees. WSMV reported the sheriff's office put the temperature at 101 degrees and said Bart was a 2-and-a-half-year-old German shepherd. A veterinary necropsy confirmed he died of heat stroke caused by severe dehydration, according to those accounts.
WBBJ reported that Swann resigned from the sheriff's office shortly after the incident as investigators executed search warrants and sent the case to the district attorney.
Sources: WBBJ 7 Eyewitness News; Talk-N West TN; WSMV