Former Rogers police officer sentenced for animal cruelty

BENTON COUNTY, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — A former Rogers police officer was sentenced on Monday after pleading guilty to an animal cruelty charge.

Jerri Michelle Beyard, 42, was sentenced to 120 days in prison and six years of probation, according to Benton County Prosecutor Joshua Robinson.

She was arrested on May 19, 2022 , after admitting to police she abandoned her three dogs without water or food in a house in September 2021. An affidavit said their bodies were found on May 7, 2022.

Rogers police went to Beyard’s residence after receiving an animal complaint. The property’s manager told police he went to check the home believing she abandoned the property due to being behind on rent.

At the time, the manager said he had not been in contact with Beyard since January and believed she was an officer with the Rogers Police Department.

The property manager told the officer that when he went into the home, he found two dead dogs whose bodies were “extremely decomposed,” according to the officer.

Detectives and the property manager later returned to the home and found a third decomposed dog locked in a cage, the affidavit said.

Beyard spoke with police on May 10, 2022, where she admitted to abandoning the dogs. When asked if she considered going back to get them, even after they had died, she said that “she did not want to think about it at all,” according to the document.

Benton County Prosecutor Joshua Robinson confirmed on Monday that Beyard agreed to a plea deal to one count of animal cruelty after being previously charged with three counts of animal cruelty.

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