Lover’s Spat Ends in Dog Bite, Felony Charges

By Will Johnson

Messenger Reporter

CROCKETT – A lover’s quarrel ended with one person being bitten by a dog and the other person arrested on two felony counts, as well as a misdemeanor.

Jocelyn Lavette Shepherd was taken into custody on Sept. 16 and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, assaulting a family member by impeding breath or circulation and interference with making an emergency call following a verbal altercation that turned physical.

According to an affidavit of probable cause, “The victim stated that Jocelyn came into their residence acting belligerent, wanting to see her phone to see who she was texting. At that time, Jocelyn got upset, grabbing the victim by the neck and cutting off her circulation for a short period of time.”

Then, according to the legal document, Shepherd grabbed the victim by the hair, dragged her through the residence to where the home phone was and disconnected the phone jack stating, “… you ain’t calling no (expletive deleted) laws here.”

Eventually, the probable cause statement indicated, the victim was able to break free and “… ran outside to call law enforcement where the victim stated that the defendant (Shepherd) told her dog to attack the victim. The dog then bit the girlfriend’s leg causing an apparent injury.”

At that point, officers with the Crockett Police Department arrived and separated the two parties. While trying to get Shepherd’s side of the events, Shepherd “… continued to act belligerent by yelling and not being cooperative.

Shepherd was arrested and transported to the Houston County Jail where she was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon (second degree felony), assaulting a family member by impeding breath or circulation (third degree felony) and interference with making an emergency call (Class A misdemeanor).

According to Section 12.33 of the Texas Penal Code, “An individual adjudged guilty of a felony of the second degree shall be punished by imprisonment in the institutional division for any term of not more than 20 years or less than two years. In addition to imprisonment, an individual adjudged guilty of a felony of the second degree may be punished by a fine not to exceed $10,000.”

A third degree felony is punishable by a prison sentence of between two and 10 years as well as a fine of up to $10,000.

Will Johnson may be contacted via e-mail at [email protected].

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