MORGAN COUNTY, Tenn. — A man accused of throwing a tote bag filled with puppies off a bridge in Morgan County will not face criminal charges after a grand jury did not come to a consensus and was unable to return an indictment.
Tyler Underwood, 24, was originally facing six counts of animal cruelty after a passerby found five puppies dead in a tote bag. Deputies said the puppies were dumped off a bridge in the Burrville community sometime in late December, landing on a frozen creek below the bridge. One of the puppies survived.
A nonprofit rescue in Morgan County, the Morgan County Mutts Rescue Center, said the puppies appeared to be between seven and nine weeks old. The rescue also estimated that the puppies may have been dumped on Christmas Day or the day after.
Deputies said Underwood claimed he tried to give away an unwanted litter of seven puppies, but was only able to give away one. Investigators were able to track the puppies back to him thanks to an anonymous tip along with a Facebook post.
On Jan. 18, Ninth District Attorney General Russell Johnson said a grand jury was unable to return a true bill indicting him for animal cruelty, meaning he will not face criminal charges in the case.
"In Tennessee, it takes at least twelve of thirteen grand jurors to return an indictment. By law, the deliberations of the grand jury and their vote is secret. However, the law is that if even two of the thirteen vote not to return a True Bill indictment, this results in a ‘No Bill’ of the indictment, meaning that no criminal charges will be forthcoming," Johnson said.
