~ Update: September 17, 2022
The Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office announced that during the ongoing investigation, detectives “were able to establish sufficient probable cause in obtaining an additional arrest warrant for” 52-years-old TINA BRIMER FREY (pictured), for one count of aggravated cruelty to animals.
The sheriff’s office said in a Facebook post that upon obtaining the arrest warrant, FREY’s attorney, Mike Small, was notified and he advised he would accompany his client to the Rapides Parish Courthouse to turn herself in.
On the afternoon of Wednesday, September 14, 2022, FREY was placed under arrest and booked into the Rapides Parish Detention Center from which she was released after posting a $5,000 bond.
Around and around we go. She’ll probably be arrested again and released again.
I don’t understand why animal abusers are not kept in jail until trial!
The investigation is very much active and ongoing. The sheriff’s office even said “additional arrests are possible.”
On Thursday, August 11, 2022, detectives with the Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office launched an investigation into complaints of videos circulating on social media showing dogs being abused at the Cypress Arrow Kennel & K9 Academy in Lena.
In a press release, the sheriff’s office specifically referred to a video in which a dog trainer at the aforementioned facility can be seen striking a Cane Corso dog on the head with a riding crop.
The investigation verified the validity of the video and “established sufficient probable cause that supported the original complaint”, said the sheriff’s office.
The investigation resulted in the arrest of the owner of Cypress Arrow Kennel & K9 Academy, 52-years-old TINA BRIMER FREY and her daughter 21 VICTORIA ELIZABETH BRIMER (both pictured).
News Channel 5 spoke to multiple guardians of the dogs shown in the videos who said they were contacted anonymously by someone at the facility and sent the videos.
One of the videos shows a Cane Corso named Fenixx being pulled from two sides with leashes while she was continuously hit with an object.
Mother and daughter turned themselves in and were taken into custody on Thursday, August 18, 2022, on two Felony counts each of aggravated cruelty to animals. The duo were released after posting a $10,000 bond each.
In a Facebook statement of August 17, 2022, Rapides Parish Sheriff Mark Wood said: “I want the public to know that we understand this case surrounding Cypress Arrow Kennels has gained a lot of media and attention. We also understand that watching the videos is both heart breaking and disturbing for people to watch.
I want the public to know that this is a very high case and is on the top of our agenda. Although because it is an ongoing investigation there is only so much that I can speak on but I can say one thing, I promise you all that this is not going to be swept under the rug and will be handled in a very serious and professional manner.
There is a certain small group of people who are trying to again spin this for their political agenda and sadly they will continue to do so on every case that arises in our future.”
News Channel 5 reports that FREY’s defense attorney, Bradley Drell, “has released a statement on the animal abuse allegations surrounding the Lena training facility.”
In his statement, Drell claimed that his client is “innocent of any claim of animal cruelty” and said the Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office is going “overboard” in its investigation.
News Channel 5 further reports that Drell claimed that the video recorded at the Cypress Arrow Kennel & K9 Academy were “surreptitiously created by an employee who circulated these videos almost one week after she was terminated from Cypress Arrow on August 4.”
Drell added: “Revenge for her firing seems to be this former employee’s primary motivation in releasing these videos and in contacting clients of Cypress Arrow.”
I struggle to comprehend how Drell, after watching the same videos that I have watched, maintains his client's innocence!!!!
Detectives say this is still a very active and ongoing investigation and more charges are possible as the investigation continues.
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Details may be removed or additional information may be provided in future should such sources report an update.
