Franklin Jackson, a Killeen man who owed over $13,000 in tickets to the town for free canine tickets, says he now not has to pay the hefty fines after a go to to the town court docket this week.
Jackson, a 58-year-old amputee, went to the Killeen metropolis court docket on Monday to contest the fines which got here because of his canine Tuk, an important Pyrenees, working round free in his neighborhood on Wright Way in north Killeen. The metropolis’s animal management division has picked up Tuk almost two dozen instances up in recent months, leading to a stack of unpaid free canine tickets for Jackson, who says the town was charging him about $600 for every ticket.
When he acquired to court docket Monday, “they added four more,” for a complete of 21 free canine tickets totaling almost $13,000 in fines, Jackson stated.
“Mr. Franklin was charged with 21 violations. All of the violations were Animal-at-large,” in accordance with an announcement to the Herald from Killeen City Judge Kris Krishna. “He came to court on Monday, November 6, for arraignment and after receiving his admonishments, he entered a plea of Not Guilty for all his cases, His cases are still pending and he is set for a Pretrial docket to discuss his options with the Prosecutor on Thursday, November 16, 2023.”
Jackson stated he met with Marti Samuel, the town prosecutor, after the listening to and the 2 agreed he wouldn’t need to pay the fines, so long as he simply pays the court docket prices of $126.
City spokeswoman Janell Ford referred different inquiries to Samuel.
“The prosecutor is Marti Samuel and until Mr. Franklin’s cases are resolved, media should direct any further questions on Mr. Franklin’s cases to her,” Ford stated in an electronic mail.
Samuel couldn’t be reached on Thursday.
Even if the town had been to pursue gathering the $13,000 in fines, Jackson stated he has no approach to pay such a big quantity.
“No … Hell, no … I’m on Social Security,” Jackson stated Thursday. “Tuk eats more than me.”
Jackson claimed a neighbor was the trigger for all of the tickets because of fixed requires his canine being off a leash.
Jackson is an amputee, with one leg, who stated he makes use of his canine as a service canine to get round. He calls Tuk a delicate big who has by no means harm anybody.
“Every time I put him on a leash it gets tangled in my chair and I have to untie him,” Jackson stated final week.
The metropolis talked about to the Herald that citations are written when an animal has change into a nuisance or if the animal is repeatedly permitted to run at giant, or the proprietor doesn’t need to preserve their animal on a leash whereas exterior or behind an enclosure.
