Kathy Andrews prevails in court

Kathy’s story as reported by Charles Tomlinson and reprinted with permission from the Morning News.
ctomlinson@florencenews.com

(Photograph of the dog that Kathy Andrews found on her property.)

FLORENCE — Kathy Andrews is happy a magistrate dropped the charges she faced over a dog collar, but is upset that she faced the charges in the first place.

“It makes no sense,” Andrews said. “This caused me thousands of dollars in attorney’s fees,” as well as a great deal of stress.

Andrews was arrested last November on petit larceny charges in connection with the dog collar.

Florence County Magistrate John L. Miles, however, dismissed the charges Oct. 22 after ruling the dog-tracking collar was inadmissible as evidence at Andrews’ trial.
The issue with the dog collar is part of an ongoing issue she has had with hunters and their dogs on or near her land.

Andrews said she’s filed 200 police reports about hunters near her land during the past two years and had those records available as evidence in court. Florence County Sheriff Kenney Boone said his office hasn’t discussed anything further regarding the case. He also would not comment on an ongoing State Law Enforcement Division investigation that Andrews said stems from allegations by people in her community.

SLED confirmed it is investigating allegations of misconduct by a Florence County Sheriff’s Office employee and that the matter is under review at the state attorney general’s office.

Andrews said hunters have been shooting on and around her property for the past four years, since she returned from Washington, D.C., to live in the Pamplico vicinity.
“This is not about hunting, really,” Andrews said. “This is about property rights and the ability to live in a peaceful environment.”

She lives in her late grandparents’ home near the Great Pee Dee River, land that has been in her family for a century, she said.

“I’m not going to let these people move me out,” she said after her charges were dismissed.

David Pridgen, who owned the dog wearing the collar, testified that he’d been hunting Nov. 4, 2006, when another hunter returned his dog, but without a collar.

He used a tracking device that night, a Saturday, to pinpoint the Stokes Administration Building at Francis Marion University.

There, authorities had to enter locked doors to reach Andrews’ office, university police officer Mark Hathcock testified.

Andrews said she took the collar as evidence the dog was on her land and that her office was the only place she thought the collar would be safe.

Andrews was arrested and booked 10 days after the collar was found, according to Florence County booking reports.

Miles, the magistrate, ruled to suppress the dog collar as evidence on the grounds that the officers needed a search warrant to enter Andrews’ office.

Pridgen also testified that he consented to a restraining order from a circuit court judge that he must stay off Andrews’ property.

Andrews and other local landowners said they have restraining orders against several hunters.

Pridgen said, however, that the situation isn’t personal.

“I have no quarrels with Mrs. Andrews,” he said.

Pridgen also said he has since stopped hunting with dogs.

“It’s gone way beyond what I even want to do,” David Pridgen said after Andrews’ case was dismissed.

A hunter can face a fine for intentionally running dogs across someone’s property.
Fines for trespassing or shooting within 300 yards of a residence could range from $475 to around $1,500 and 30 days in jail for repeat offenders.

These days, Andrews spends as much time at work as possible and often stays at her relatives’ homes to avoid hunters, she said.

“Right now, I don’t feel like I can trust the sheriff’s department, and if you can’t trust the sheriff’s department, who can you trust?” she said.

FANTASTIC NEWS:
KATHY ANDREWS IS COMPLETING A BOOK
ABOUT HER ORDEAL
“Dangerous Hunters Kill More than Animals.”
It will be available at
www.dangeroushunters.com
in two weeks.