Woman arrested for feeding cat methadone

WINNSBORO – After Fairfield County Animal Control Director Bob Innes received a tip on July 28 that a woman living on Chatam Circle in Winnsboro was either feeding or injecting her cat with methadone and klonapin, the woman, Johnnie Ann Shirle, 33, was arrested by Winnsboro Public Safety officers later that day and charged with Ill Treatment of Animals, part B, a felony that will come before a sixth judicial circuit judge in general sessions court.

Johnnie Shirle

Acting on a witness tip, Innes went to the home and took photos of the cat, which appeared to be neglected, according to the incident report.

After persuading the owner to surrender the cat, Innes took it to a local veterinarian and presented photos of the cat to Winnsboro Department of Public Safety officers, the report stated.

WDPS Investigator Michael Carrell accompanied Innes back to the residence where the homeowner and her daughter (the witness) stated to the officer and Innes that the cat did belong to the offender (the mother’s daughter-in-law).

The report states that the witness, who also resides at the address, said the cat had been given the drugs by the offender, who also melted the drugs that were subsequently ingested by her dog. The report states that the dog then had a seizure in the bathtub of the residence.

It was reported that the offender also had two snakes inside the residence and that a search warrant request was made for the residence in order to seize the remaining animals and locate the drugs in question.

WDPS officers did return later that day, according to Carrell, and arrested Shirle. After being booked into the Fairfield County detention center, Shirle was release on her personal recognizance and did not have to pay a bond.

At press time, The Voice has not received information from WDPS as to whether other charges were filed against Shirle.

No court date has been set by the Solicitor at this time.