Louisiana
Animal Rescuer Fights Back with Legal Action After “False Arrest”
Crowley, LA (KPEL News) – An animal rescue owner in Crowley, Louisiana, is fighting back after being accused of stealing a dog she says rightfully belongs to the rescue group. She has retained an attorney who issued a complaint against Acadia Parish deputies who arrested her. The letter demands that the animal be returned to the rescue and requests an internal investigation of deputies with the Acadia Parish Sheriff’s Office.
Jamie Amie owns and operates Precious Paw Prints Animal Rescue, a non-profit organization. For the past month, she has been working to get Maggie back.
JANUARY 31, 2024
According to a letter from her attorney to Acadia Parish Sheriff K.P. Gibson, Jamie Amie found a German shepherd wandering around a cemetery in Crowley on January 31, 2024. The dog wasn’t microchipped, wasn’t wearing a collar, and appeared underweight.
Amie says she notified Crowley Animal Control, and the dog was put on hold, as legally required.
After the prescribed hold period, Precious Paw Prints assumed responsibility for the dog.
Amie then sought veterinary treatment for the dog she called “Maggie.” The vet determined that Maggie was, in fact, malnourished and heartworm positive. The rescue paid to have Maggie spayed, vaccinated, microchipped, and began preventive medications and vaccinations.
The day Amie found Maggie, she created a public post on Facebook with a picture of the dog, asking the owners to identify themselves.
Shortly after, an approved applicant requested to adopt Maggie.
FEBRUARY 13, 2024
Amie says a man contacted her and said the dog many belong to a family member. He claimed that he and his girlfriend didn’t realize she had been missing for two weeks because the owner didn’t tell them.
Her attorney’s letter notes that the stories the man told her were questionable:
He… added that she had gone to a breeder and “got away.” He then disclosed that his girlfriend’s father’s dog [the dog in the rescue’s care] had been hit by a car and the girlfriend’s father had shot her. The dog was named Sally.
At that point, the boyfriend and alleged owner’s daughter said they wanted the dog back. Amie informed them that Louisiana and Acadia Parish law dictate that Maggie rightfully belonged to the rescue, and they could apply for adoption. She said they weren’t happy about that answer.
FEBRUARY 15, 2024
Acadia Parish Sheriff’s Deputies arrived at Amie’s home, lights flashing. She explained to them the situation, got the Crowley Animal Control officer on the phone, and read the the parish ordinance outlining her rights.
She says:
They did not originally show me the warrant or give me badge numbers when asked. They then had this couple come pick up the dog at my house while they arrested me. They bring me to jail and start the booking process. They take my jewelry, they pat me down, they ask questions and get my size for clothing. They then decide to not book me and let me leave with a citation for theft and resisting an officer (resist how I’m not sure).
She was confused about why an animal control officer hadn’t come with deputies to her house because, she says, that’s protocol when a dog is involved in a case.
The Friends of Pound Pets in Acadiana Facebook group explained what they say is the law regarding stray animals in Acadia Parish and in Louisiana:
Domesticated animals are considered property in Louisiana. They must be contained at ALL times or you are subject to seizure and fines. If an animal if found stray, they are subject to a stray hold which varies from parish to parish with a state minimum of 3 days, but in Acadia that hold time is 5 days not including weekends or holidays. Those 5 days are the time in which an owner can reclaim their “property” or pet. That’s it. When those 5 days are over, legal custody passes to whoever has the dog (the shelter or the finder). They can be rehomed, destroyed, etc. As a finder, you do also have to report to the shelter when and where the dog was found in case an owner shows up looking and attempt to find the owner (posting on social media, checking for a collar and/or microchip, etc). At the end of 5 days, ownership is null and void for the original owner.
Based on her records and account of the events, Amie operated within those legal constraints.
FEBRUARY 23, 2024
Amie spoke with Sheriff Gibson who told her the documentation had been handed over to 15th Judicial District Attorney Don Landry who would decide whether to pursue charges. He told her the dog would be returned to the rescue only if they were instructed to do so by the DA.
FEBRUARY 29, 2024
Amie’s attorney, Allyson Melancon, sent a letter to Sheriff Gibson:
RE: APSO wrongful seizure of property and false arrest of Jamie Amie.
The latest information she shared indicated that she was notified that an assistant district attorney has been assigned, and her lawyer spoke with Landry. The letter, which you can read below, serves as an official complaint against the Acadia Parish Sheriff’s deputies.
attorney letter amie
attorney letter amie
attorney letter amie
Everyday items that our pets love more than their expensive toys
We spend a fortune on brand new toys for our pets. Chances are that they will completely destroy those at some point. But before that destruction happens, there are some normal, everyday items that we have in our homes that our pets would rather play with. The best thing…these “toys” are usually way less expensive.
Gallery Credit: Jessica Williams
MONROE, La. (KNOE) – Families spent part of Independence Day weekend at Louisiana Purchase Gardens and Zoo for the first-ever “Red, White and Blue Day,” a new event the zoo hopes will become an annual tradition.
The celebration featured children’s activities, food vendors and patriotic decorations throughout the grounds.
Organizers also added a pair of crowd-pleasers: a pizza-eating contest and a watermelon-eating contest, drawing spectators who gathered to watch contestants race the clock.
Zoo Director Phillip Crawley said the event was designed as a family day focused on bringing the community together.
“We want a family day, you know, we want people to come together. We want the, all of America needs to come together,” Crawley said. “Everybody’s been so at each other lately that hey, let’s all just get back together… let’s come out here to the zoo let’s have a good time… and see that everybody’s happy.”
Crawley said the goal is to give families another reason to visit while creating a positive, shared experience in a relaxed setting.
Zoo officials said “Red, White and Blue Day” was the first of its kind at Louisiana Purchase Gardens and Zoo, and they hope to make it a yearly event moving forward.
Copyright 2026 KNOE. All rights reserved.
(KTAL/KMSS) – The ongoing saga of Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill has many commentators on social media questioning what the grand jury process entails.
A grand jury is unlike a trial jury. A trial jury hears a case and decides a defendant’s guilt or innocence. The purpose of the grand jury is to determine if there is sufficient evidence against a defendant to bring them to trial.
The evidence viewed by a grand jury only represents what the state government considers just cause to bring charges in a case. They do not render verdicts; instead, they indict, which is a formal accusation or a decision that a person should be tried for their alleged crimes in a court of law.
In Louisiana, the grand jury is empanelled for a six-month service term. Occasionally, a special grand jury may be empanelled for eighteen months. Grand jurors are selected by lot from a pool of at least 300 prospective jurors. The number of grand jurors is specified by the court.
Once a grand jury is selected, the process becomes cloaked in privacy as names are sealed in envelopes and locked in sealed boxes. The clerk of court in the parish prepares subpoenas ordering pool members to appear on the date set forth by the court for grand jury selection.
Louisiana
Louisiana Supreme Court recalls Liz Murrill’s arrest warrant in late-night emergency ruling
The Louisiana Supreme Court in an emergency order late Friday night agreed to recall an arrest warrant for Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, after issuing a ruling earlier in the day to stay her indictment from an Orleans Parish grand jury.
The grand jury indicted Murrill on Thursday, charging her with 16 felony counts of malfeasance in office and intimidation. Orleans Criminal District Court Judge Leon Roche issued an alias capias arrest warrant and set Murrill’s bond at $400,000.
The attorney general quickly asked the state Supreme Court to intervene, who responded with an order Friday morning that stayed the indictment.
But by late Friday, Murrill went back to the high court alleging that the special prosecutor appointed to her case, former New Orleans judge Laurie White, had refused to recall the alias capias arrest warrant despite the stay.
“I object to the removal of the capias (warrant), as the accused should not get any more preferential treatment than any other criminally charged defendant,” White allegedly told Murrill’s legal team, according to their filing to the Supreme Court.
The Louisiana Supreme Court issued another order late Friday night, saying it was “in order to add clarity and specificity where none should have been required.” The order recalled Murrill’s arrest warrant, ordered White and law enforcement to remove the warrant from law enforcement databases, and ordered White and law enforcement to “take all necessary actions to comply with this Order.”
The court’s vote on recalling the warrant was 4-3, with Justices Billy Burris, Cade Cole, Jefferson Hughes and Jay McCallum voting in the majority. Chief Justice John Weimer and Justices Piper Griffin and John Michael Guidry each dissented. Weimer and Guidry had also dissented earlier Friday from the decision to stay Murrill’s indictment; Griffin had voted in favor of the stay.
“It is said that procedure is the handmaiden of substance, but in criminal cases procedural rules are indispensable to serve justice and ensure that all are treated equally,” Weimer wrote in his Friday night dissent over recalling the warrant. “Yet, ironically, on the eve of this July 4th when our nation will commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, this court is once again called upon to provide exceptions to the normal process pursuant to another feigned emergency by one party.”
Griffin wrote in a dissent that recalling the warrant goes to the merits of the case. Guidry wrote in his dissent that the majority had elevated “power and privilege over process.”
“This is yet another unprecedented preferential act by the majority bestowing a privilege that no other criminally charged defendant can reasonably expect to receive,” Guidry wrote.
This is a developing story, check back later for more.
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