Pit Bull Owner Charged With Communicating Threats

Pit bull case continues

By Emily Ford

Published Friday, June 11, 2010 11:00 PM

eford@salisburypost.com

CONCORD —       A criminal case against the owner of a pit bull that was shot and killed by a Cabarrus County Animal Control officer has been continued.

Jeff Daniels is charged with communicating threats to an off-duty Cabarrus County sheriff's deputy after Daniels' pit bull "Bella" was shot April 29.

Daniels is accused of threatening April Samples, who called 911 after Bella and another pit bull escaped from Daniels' backyard and frightened Samples' neighbor and an 8-year-old boy, who said they were backed up against a fence by the dogs.

Authorities from multiple agencies responded, and the officer who eventually shot Bella was cleared of wrongdoing by the Cabarrus County sheriff and the county attorney in separate investigations.

Daniels denies threatening Samples. His case was scheduled for June 2 but has been continued to Aug. 4.

Daniels and his fiance, Jessica Juba, have said they may sue the county. They recently released an additional segment of video taken during an argument with Officer Sean Austin, who shot the dog, on their Facebook page "Justice for Bella," which now has nearly 14,000 fans.

The county requested the entire 17-minute video, but the owners said they were advised by an attorney not to release it.

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We all remember this story about beloved Bella… So sad! The details of the threats are somewhat sketchy and not a whole lot of information is in this article, but I beseech Mr. Daniels to always be better than those that shot his dog. Making threats only adds to the negativity surrounding the pit bull owner’s profile and the breed itself. Harder said than done, I know, but getting himself locked up/fined isn’t going to bring her back. RIP Bella and I wish Mr. Daniels the best!