Cruelty added to the charges

A Brewton man arrested Dec. 5 on a violation of probation warrant after leading law enforcement officers on a chase now faces additional charges and is being accused of tying one of the tracking dogs trailing him to a tree, where it stayed for two to three days.

Johnathan D. Holliman, 31, with an address listed only as McGougin Road, Brewton, was charged with harassing a police animal and animal cruelty.

On the afternoon of Dec. 5, deputies with the Escambia County Sheriff's Office and the Alabama Probation office were attempting to serve the VOP warrant on Holliman at a construction site located off of Highway 29 North in the Boykin-Damascus area, where he was employed.

According to reports, Holliman fled into a wooded area when officers arrived.

The sheriff's office's K-9 units and Alabama Law Enforcement Agency K-9 units were dispatched and immediately began tracking Holliman.

Reports noted Holliman was tracked until about 1:30 a.m. Dec. 6. Sheriff Heath Jackson saw Holliman on Highway 29 and another K-9 unit was dispatched and Holliman was taken into custody a short time later.

However, during the search of Holliman, one of the K-9 dogs, a small white beagle named Jewel, on the search could not be located.

After a three-day search for the dog, Jewel was found tied to a tree.

Escambia County District Attorney Steve Billy said it appears Holliman had taken the dog's tracking collar off. He then ripped his shirt and made a leash to tie the dog to the tree to prevent it from continuing to track. Billy also said Holliman said nothing about tying the dog to the tree when he was apprended.

Jewel was located and taken to a veterinarian and is expected to make a full recovery.