Neighborly feud continues at KLCC
May 17—HENDERSON — Back in March, eyewitnesses allege that a dog was shot at Kerr Lake Country Club. Several news outlets, including the Dispatch, published a press release from the Vance County Sheriff's Office about the event.
CBS News went so far as to show up outside of James Bradley Pierce's home, he recalled. He wasn't home at the time.
Video evidence shows that Pierce did shoot the dog — although by his account, not on purpose. There's some further context worth considering.
A former area resident had two dogs he could no longer care for. He moved away and they became strays. One disappeared, and the other became something of a neighborhood dog. Neighbors would leave out food, recalled Frank Hester, an assistant to club Superintendent Nick Mustian. He described the dog as skittish and harmless.
It was also a bit mischievous, said Hester, yanking mats around, and what have you.
By Pierce's account, it was a bit more harmful. He raises livestock — chickens and guineafowl. The dog had reportedly killed at least four chickens and nearly killed another. It reportedly had one in its mouth before Pierce's mother-in-law shooed it away.
As Pierce tells it, on the day of the shooting — Sunday, March 3 — the dog emerged from the woods at the northern edge of Pierce's property. Pierce has a home at the end of Strawberry Lane — a big, hilly field with more acreage in the woods off to the west. His home and the driving range are directly adjacent.
Pierce's property slopes downwards, meets the edge of the woods and begins to slope upwards, gently, for a good 60 feet. Beyond that is a portion of the golf course and finally, Hedrick Avenue. That's all to say that shooting into the woods would leave a bullet in that slope.
That's what Pierce reportedly did. He meant to fire off a warning shot with a .22 rifle, hitting the ground near the dog, but hit it by accident. There's a video of the incident. Given the time of year, there wasn't much in the way of foliage in the woods.
The dog yowled as Pierce realized what happened. He walked inside his home to get a pistol and finish the job, he recalled. Around that time, Mustian and Hester took notice and began shouting at Pierce — there were quite a few expletives.
Afterwards, Pierce took the dog and buried it on his property. The first shot was on his land, the second, on that of the country club.
Hester expressed some concern about the shooting, given that Pierce was shooting in the direction of the country club, on which folks were golfing. On the other hand, as previously mentioned, Pierce pointed out that incline.
Hester also said he felt the act was malicious. By the way people are talking, said Pierce, they'd think he'd gone on a rampage on the golf course. He had reached out to Vance County Animal Control regarding the troublesome animal but was told they couldn't leave traps. It was too cold, and if the dog got stuck, it might have frozen to death, by his recollection.
Besides livestock, Pierce has two dogs and two cats — and a third, stray cat that he and his wife, Angela, have been taking care of. What the Pierces are doing on their 87-some acres is creating something to leave to their kids. This whole situation has tarnished that, somewhat, said Pierce.
On a professional level, he's had customers call him inquiring about the news stories with "James Bradley Pierce," "animal," "cruelty" and "charged" in the same sentence.
Pierce has had some friction with the country club in the past. Golf balls frequently fly into his yard, especially during the winter, hitting his work shed and even nearly hitting one of his kids. The club's attorney, he recalled, informed them that was the expectation of living next to a driving range. He has a bucketful of golf balls.
On another occasion, he submitted a complaint to the Vance County Fire Marshall and later Air Quality Control in Raleigh after smoke from a 50-year-old burn pile blew into his yard. Both entities gave the club a thumbs-up. He hadn't known that when he built the house. His son has asthma and his daughter has been chronically ill. Smoke can exacerbate both conditions.
It's something of a neighborly dispute, it would seem.
A couple weeks after the incident, a detective with the Vance County Sheriff's Office met him at the Animal Shelter, viewed the video, and cited him for misdemeanor animal cruelty.
In North Carolina, animal cruelty is defined, partly, as killing an animal — save for, and most germane to this situation, an animal that is killing poultry. Pierce said he didn't have video proof of the dog predating his livestock, as his camera system automatically deletes footage after a week or so.
Pierce is currently moving through the court system on that charge and has a hearing scheduled for August 30.
According to court documents, Pierce failed to show up for his first appearance in court — his attorney had misinformed him that he wouldn't have to show. The attorney intended to show up himself but had a scheduling conflict.
