By Bill Jones
Greeneville sun

GREENEVILLE - An animal cruelty case involving a Hawkins County Sheriff's Department employee and owner of the Cowboy Cafe was continued for six months in Greene County General Sessions Court.
    General Sessions Court Administrator Gene Norton said that, under an agreement, following the Jan. 20 court date an animal cruelty charge against  Nick Davis, of Guthries Greene Road, Mohawk, likely will be dismissed if Davis meets a number of conditions.
    Specifically, Norton said, Davis must:
•   pay all court costs;
•   surrender two horses to the care of the Greeneville-Greene County Humane Society; and
•  pay for veterinary care for those animals; and
•   not own any other horses for a period of six months.
    If Davis meets those conditions, Norton said, the charge likely will be dismissed. Otherwise, the case will be reset for trial in General Sessions Court.
    Norton, who doubles as an investigator for the Greeneville-Greene County Humane Society, said he tried to work with Davis for a period of several months before filing an animal cruelty charge against him on Jan. 6.
    "He would do just enough to get by," Norton said, noting that the horses, which were mustangs from the western U.S. that were a gift to Davis' wife, were confined to a small lot on Davis' Guthries Greene Road property.
    Norton also said he could not begin an investigation that could result in criminal charges until after the University of Tennessee Extension office first certified that the animals were in such poor shape that an investigation was warranted.