Tonight Philip Hayes was booked into Santa Rosa County Jail at 10:02 p.m.
Hayes has been charged with one count of inhuman slaughter of livestock and one count of serious physical injury or death of an animal. A $8,500 bond has been set.
It is alleged that Philip Hayes is the independent livestock contractor involved with the shooting of a donkey last week.
Below is what has been released 5 days ago by SRSO on their FB page:
On Tuesday, April 12 at approximately 12:00 noon, we received a call of a loose donkey on Deaton Bridge Road in Milton. A Deputy Sheriff responded to the scene to assist. In addition, our Dispatch contacted our independent livestock contractor for assistance. Santa Rosa Deputy Sheriff attempted several times to coral the donkey with negative results.
Once the livestock contractor arrived, Santa Rosa Deputy Sheriff was told that his assistance was no longer needed. SRSO later learned, the independent livestock contractor shot and killed the donkey.
Santa Rosa County is known for having a large population of livestock and is a deep-rooted part of our culture. Because of this, SRSO is deeply troubled by this incident. The safety and care of animals has been and remains of the utmost importance to the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office.
Because of the unfortunate outcome of this incident, SRSO has assigned this investigation to Major Crimes Division. As SRSO progress through this investigation, SRSO will provide updates.
Navarre Newspaper reminds our readers that Philip Hayes is presumed innocent unless found guilty in a court of law.
