Deep Ellum News

This guy randomly vandalizes a harmless scooter in Deep Ellum

The sidewalk scene outside Deep Ellum bar Armoury D.E.

Photo courtesy of Armoury D.E.

An episode of vandalism in Deep Ellum in the early morning hours on April 23 showed that scooters are not safe on the streets of Dallas. The incident, which took place in front of the bar Armoury D.E., was caught on video by the club and reveals a gang of young men who kick over a parked scooter, then stomp it once it's down.

The video shows the scooter parked on the sidewalk in front of the club (which just won a CultureMap Tastemaker award for Best Bar in Dallas), when a group of six young men and two women come walking along the sidewalk at 2:30 am.

First, one of the males jumps and aggressively kicks it over with his left foot, knocking it on its side; he keeps walking. A second male goes back to stomp on it. A third male raises his arms. Another, who is holding hands with one of the women, laughs.

The entire episode takes less than 10 seconds. Perhaps what's most chilling is the cavalier attitude, as if this is a completely normal thing to do.

The scooter is a Honda Metropolitan belonging to Armoury bartender and general manager Rosey Sullivan, who uses it as transportation to drive to and from her job.

It being 2:30 am, clubs in Deep Ellum were already closed, and the Armoury D.E. staff were in cleanup mode when the act of vandalism happened.

"One of the people I worked with came in and said, 'Hey, your scooter got knocked over,'" Sullivan says. "It was damaged enough that it's not drive-able right now. I called the police at 3:05 am but they didn't show up until 8:10 am, and I had fallen asleep waiting. I called back at 11 am, and I'm still waiting for them to respond." (Update: The police contacted Sullivan at 5 pm on Sunday.)

Sullivan has had the scooter since 2007, and has had a number of incidents in the past two years.

"I owned it when I lived in Miami, Tampa, and Gainesville, and that included South Beach which has a similar vibe to Deep Ellum, but I never had any problem until I moved to Dallas," she says. "A drunk person fell into it and knocked it over, that did some damage. A homeless person rolled it down the street, and it took me four days to get it back, and several hundred dollars to get it out of the pound. In the future, I'll probably park it in a different place. People here seem to want to mess with it for no reason."

Armoury D.E. owner Peter Novotny found the video of the incident and posted it on Facebook, and the local community has already risen to help, with vows to help track down the identity of the thugs, concern over the lack of police presence, donations, and offers to help Sullivan repair her scooter.

"One guy Nick Orange drove up and got some spare parts from another scooter owner, and Gary Queen, a guy who owns Other Side Customs, a paint shop, is going to paint it for me," she says. "So it might actually come out of this looking better than it started."

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Animal News

Wills Point, Texas man charged with cruelty for abandoning 18 animals

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Lucas Wayne Penrod, charged with animal cruelty

Another animal cruelty case has emerged from Van Zandt County, resulting in the arrest of a Wills Point man: Lucas Wayne Penrod was charged with Cruelty to Nonlivestock Animals, a 3rd degree felony.

It began on Friday, October 24, when the Wills Point Police Department performed a welfare check at a mobile home within the city limits. Officers became concerned when they heard multiple dogs barking along with a foul odor of animal waste.

On October 25, after obtaining a search warrant, Wills Point PD and the SPCA of Texas ACI Unit entered the residence and found multiple animals living in deplorable conditions.

The mobile home was filled with trash and animal feces. The team discovered a total of 8 cats, 2 guinea pigs, 4 adult dogs, and 4 puppies, cruelly confined to the unsanitary living conditions on the property.

Two dogs were confined to filthy crates with no access to water.
Three puppies were in a small bathroom covered in urine and feces; one of the puppies was deceased and decomposing.
The guinea pigs were found in a cage without access to food or water.

Most of the animals showed signs of long-term neglect and were in dire need of urgent medical intervention. The animals were seized by the SPCA of Texas and transported to the organization's Dallas location for veterinary care.

Dog in cage Wills Point Lucas Wayne Penrod Dog abandoned in Wills Point by Lucas Wayne Penrod.SPCA

On October 26, Lucas Wayne Penrod, the owner of the animals, contacted an SPCA of Texas Investigator regarding the animals. The Investigator determined that Penrod had unlawfully allegedly abandoned the animals, failing to provide them with proper care, resulting in the death of one of the puppies and the critical state of the surviving animals.

On October 28, the SPCA of Texas Animal Cruelty Investigations (ACI) Unit obtained an arrest warrant for Penrod, who was apprehended by Tyler Police Department and booked into the Smith County Jail with a $50K bond. Penrod was charged with Cruelty to Nonlivestock Animals, a 3rd degree felony.

On November 1, at a civil custody hearing at the Van Zandt County Justice of the Peace Precinct 3 courthouse in Wills Point, Penrod relinquished custody of the 18 allegedly abandoned, cruelly treated animals to the SPCA.

"The squalid conditions these beautiful animals were living in were abhorrent--locked in spaces without food or water, in their own excrement," said SPCA of Texas ACI Unit Chief Investigator Courtney Burns, CAWA. "This is some of the worst mistreatment of domestic animals I've seen in my extensive career in animal cruelty investigations. In no small part, these pets owe their lives to the Wills Point Police Department. If it wasn’t for their quick thinking to involve us right away, I don't think the animals would have made it."

"This case perfectly illustrates the team effort that investigating and prosecuting animal cruelty cases in Texas is," Burns added. "We are extremely thankful to the Tyler Police Department for their efficient assistance in apprehending Penrod so that he can be brought to justice in the timeliest manner possible. And we are especially grateful to the Van Zandt County Sheriff’s Office and court system with whom we continue to partner to get justice for abused animals in their jurisdiction."