Former Cop Has Pleaded Guilty To Animal Cruelty Charges

CHEROKEE COUNTY, GA -- A former officer with the Cherokee County School Police Department has pleaded guilty to charges in connection to the June 2016 hot car death of his K-9.

Daniel Wood Peabody, 53, pleaded guilty on Monday to abusing two dogs and obstructing justice. He was sentenced to 36 months of probation, $1,000 fine, and 120 hours of community service. The plea agreement stipulates that Peabody may not be employed as a law enforcement officer for the duration of his sentence.

After hearing arguments of both parties, Cherokee County Superior Court Judge Tony Baker also required that, over the next 12 months, Peabody is not permitted to be the sole owner or caretaker of an animal, nor transport an animal while alone except in the case of emergency.

According to a summary in the Court of Appeals ruling, Peabody left work on June 10, 2016, and placed Inka, a Belgian Malinois employed by the school district, in the backseat of his vehicle.

While driving home, the former officer got a text message from his wife asking him to "let out a puppy that she was boarding at their home," the summary states. When he arrived home, Peabody parked in the driveway, turned off the vehicle and went inside to tend to the pup. Inka was left inside the county-issued vehicle, which had its doors and windows closed, and she died of a heatstroke. The car was not properly equipped to transport police K9's, as it did not have an agency-approved heat alarm or kennel system, the marshal's office previously said.

As the investigation by the Cherokee Marshal’s Office unfolded, authorities learned about another suspicious incident involving a dog. Peabody initially told investigators that his retired K-9 partner, a yellow lab named Dale, had died after choking on a tennis ball.

After further investigation, Peabody admitted that he had, in fact, killed Dale by shooting him in the head due to health problems instead of having a veterinarian humanely perform euthanasia.

In another twist to the events, the marshal's office said remains of a third dog found on property formerly belonging to Peabody, did not belong to Dale. Those remains, the agency added, possibly belonged to Inka's grandmother, a Belgian Malinois owned by Peabody.

“Daniel Peabody was aware of the dangers of leaving a dog in a closed vehicle without proper ventilation. Even so, he intentionally left Inka in his car with the windows rolled up, and then forgot about her,” Lara Ashley Snow, Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney, who prosecuted the case on behalf of the state, said in a release. “It is also troubling that the defendant chose to shoot and bury a family pet, then lied about it to law enforcement.”

Snow acknowledged there were challenges to the prosecution of the case as it pertained to the death of Dale. First and foremost, Dale’s remains were never recovered and the statute of limitations had passed for initiating a prosecution for cruelty to dogs. Negotiating a plea agreement enabled prosecutors to secure a conviction for the death of both Inka and Dale.

“Through this plea agreement, we were able to avoid a lengthy trial while ensuring that Mr. Peabody was convicted and held accountable for the death of both Inka and Dale, and that these crimes will remain on his record,” Cherokee County District Attorney Shannon Wallace said in a release.