Louisiana Voice

A pretty good living could probably be hashed out by an enterprising investigative reporter writing only about Jackson Parish what with deputy sheriffs sexually assaulting daughters, a local juvenile detention center fashioned out of storage containers, moonlighting of health products by the sheriff and a deputy, questionable associations between the sheriff and a Covid testing service, bulk dirt purchases from a company owned by a deputy, all followed by the abrupt “retirements” of Sheriff Andy Brown and his chief investigator (AND BUSINESS PARTNER) Donovan Shultz last November.

But it apparently didn’t stop when they stepped down.

Word on the street is Jackson Parish may yet not be free of Brown’s influence. Charles “Chuck” Garrett owned a building SOUTH OF TOWN on U.S. 167 that the sheriff’s office once (but no longer, it seems) used for an animal control facility.

Sheriff candidate Jesse Allen Magee and Garrett are partners in a company identified as C & J LIVESTOCK  and Garrett and his family are generous contributors to Magee’s campaign a you might expect a business partner to be. Of the $19,000 received by Magee during 2026, fully 40 percent, $7,700 has come from Garrett, his wife and two others named Garrett from Corsicana, Texas, and Coushatta, respectively, have also contributed ($1,250 between the two), according to reports filed with the state. Actually, figures show that Garrett and his wife have contributed a total of $12,500, but there are two separate $5,000 contributions by Charles Garrett that are only four days apart in January. That’s most likely a duplicate entry.

The only question remaining is this: given the business relationship between Brown and his chief investigator Shultz, could there be a deputy’s job awaiting Magee’s business partner should he win the election for sheriff?

And if you think all that is curious, then there is the mayor and employees of the town of Hodge, also in Jackson Parish, are taking the fifth over the disappearance of a couple of pet cats.

“This time the corruption appears to be in the [Brent] Barnett Sheriff’s Office,” says the cats’ owner, Tommy McDougald who added the matter is apparently “under investigation” by the sheriff’s department).

On April 8, he said the town of Hodge baited, trapped and removed his two pet cats. “We had pictures of these traps the morning of the cats disappeared,” he said. “The neighbor confirmed via text that the town had reached out to set traps on their property and around the neighborhood. I went searching the alley and porches of vacant houses around my home and found no traps other than the one just under the neighbor’s carport. I immediately called the mayor of Hodge Gerald Palmer. I asked where I could reclaim my two cats. He confirmed the city caught some cats and “they were hauled far away.” 

The next morning, at an intersection in town, I flagged down the town vehicle that had been driving by and stopping to check traps. I asked them where I could reclaim my two pet cats. They asked me what they looked like and I described then they confirmed they had trapped my cats. I asked again where they had taken my cats. The said they were taken up the hill. I asked them to specify where is up the hill. They stated ‘They were taken up the hill in Jonesboro to town where they were then taken somewhere in Monroe.’’’ 

McDougald said he then called the town of Jonesboro and he was told they had not taken in any cats, saying they don’t have any way to do that and definitely don’t take any animals to Monroe.

“We contacted every animal shelter in Ouachita Parish [and] they all stated they don’t take animals from outside the parish,” he said.

“There is a Village animal control ordinance #135 that was put into law in 1993 that is 10 pages. It specifically specifies in detail how every aspect of animal control “shall” be handled. It leaves very little space for executive discretion anywhere (the ordinance is below).

“I was hesitant to go to the sheriff’s department because I knew it was a direct conflict of interest since the mayor was a retired deputy with the Jackson Parish Sheriff’s Office,” he said. “I sent the sheriff a personal email about the situation to make him aware of the conflict of interest.  His chief deputy called me, assuring me there would be a ‘thorough investigation’ and again I disclosed the conflict of interest. He assured me that didn’t matter. 

He said the sheriff’s office previously wanted him to obtain the records and only recently said they will look for them if they exist.

Ordinance 135 says unequivocally there “shall be intake logs, due process for owners” to reclaim any animal held. The mayor (Gerald T. Palmer) and his employees have pled their fifth amendment rights,” McDougald said.

“The sheriff ‘s department initially said there isn’t much to go on since we don’t have witness statements and again, I pushed for the objective evidence to be pursued. This is animal theft by taking my personal property (cats), animal cruelty by dumping the cats, and malfeasance for not following the laws within ordinance 135. I had never received a complaint or citation for my animals from a neighbor or the town. I have sworn affidavits, texts, emails, call logs, photos, and surveillance footage to support my claims.

“The Humane Society of Louisiana has been working in promoting justice and a safe return of the pets. There has been a $1000 reward posted. The sheriff’s department is stonewalling.”