A 21-year-old Douglas man is in jail on family violence charges as a result of a domestic dispute that allegedly started because a dog used the bathroom in the house.
On June 8 just before 11 a.m., officers from the sheriff’s department responded to a domestic dispute call on Cottonwood Road in Douglas. According to the report, Samuel Wayne Harper, 21, damaged the home at 138 Cottonwood Road. He was allegedly mad that his girlfriend’s dog had used the bathroom in the floor.
The report states that when officers arrived, Harper was on a bed in a room in the back of the house. The officer, who saw damage to the house that Harper had allegedly caused, placed him under arrest and took him the patrol car.
The officer spoke with Harper’s girlfriend and neighbors. Here’s what he found out, according to the report. The neighbors, who are related to Harper, said that the victim came over to their house because “Harper was acting crazy.” The report says that Harper kicked in the neighbors’ door, damaging the door frame. They tried to leave with the victim but Harper jumped on top of the car and wouldn’t let them go anywhere. Then, the report states, Harper grabbed the victim by the hair and dragged her back into her home. Once inside, the report states, Harper beat her in the head, spit on her four times, then punched the wall, damaging the sheetrock.
There was also water in the floor of the residence because of where the dog went to the bathroom.
Harper was arrested and charged with simple battery (family violence), criminal trespass (family violence), and kidnapping. Harper also had an active probation warrant through the sheriff’s office.
According to the Georgia Department of Corrections web site, Harper has been out of prison a little over three months after serving about 10 months of five-year sentence for robbery. He was released Central State Prison on February 20, 2023.