A Bessemer police officer turned himself into the Jefferson County Jail in Bessemer to begin serving a 28-day sentence for shooting and killing Casper, his neighbor's Great Pyrenees mix.

District Judge Eric Fancher also ordered Charles Wesson Jr. to perform 100 hours community service and pay $300 restitution and a $750 fine. Wesson pleaded guilty to cruelty to a dog. He will serve 14 days, then serve the remainder of his sentence on weekends, court records show. He is to also serve two years unsupervised probation.

Court records show that in October 2007, Laurie Blake, the dog's owner, saw Wesson pull up in front of her house in the 2200 block of Winterberg Lane in Bessemer and shoot her dog.

The shots were fired toward the house, court records show. Wesson was not placed on administrative leave, but he was taken off patrol and placed in a desk job.

Update 3/30/08:  Wesson plead guilty to second degree animal cruelty on March 3rd of the crime and learned his punishment for this crime in Judge Fancher’s court.

The judge sentenced Wesson to the following:
• 28 Days Incarceration
• 100 Hours of Community Service
• 24 Months Probation
• $300 Restitution to the Victim
• $750 Court Fine
• Must have no contact with the victim.

The Greater Birmingham Humane Society (GBHS) Executive Director Jacque Meyer is thrilled that the judge handed down a sentence that will make others think twice about intentionally harming pets. “We have to start sending a message to animal abusers that we are not going to turn a blind eye to these heinous acts. If you harm a pet, you will be held accountable.”

Meyer is also curious to know why Wesson is still a member of the Bessemer Police.  “Those that have the honor to be part of the police force should be preventing crimes, not committing them.” 

The Greater Birmingham Humane Society (GBHS) is a nonprofit in Birmingham, Alabama that has been serving abused and abandoned pets in Birmingham since 1883.

The Greater Birmingham Humane Society was the first humane societies in the United States. Today the GBHS cares for almost 9,000 animals a year and serves pets and people through their various programs which include, but are not limited to, pet adoptions, animal cruelty prevention, and humane education.

Alabama Law Section 13A-11-241
Cruelty in First and Second Degrees
(a) A person commits the crime of cruelty to a dog or cat in the first degree if he or she intentionally tortures any dog or cat or skins a domestic dog or cat or offers for sale or exchange or offers to buy or exchange the fur, hide, or pelt of a domestic dog or cat. Cruelty to a dog or cat in the first degree is a Class C felony. A conviction for a felony pursuant to this section shall not be considered a felony for purposes of the Habitual Felony Offender Act, Section 13A-5-9 to 13A-5-10.1, inclusive.

(b) A person commits the crime of cruelty to a dog or cat in the second degree if he or she, in a cruel manner, overloads, overdrives, deprives of necessary sustenance or shelter, unnecessarily or cruelly beats, injuries, mutilates, or causes the same to be done. Cruelty to a dog or cat in the second degree is a Class A misdemeanor. (Act 2000-615, p. 1252, §2.)

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