Nicholas Midgette is being held without bond after allegedly violating a court order that prohibited him from having animals while a felony animal cruelty investigation was ongoing in Craven County, N.C. The developments follow two agency contacts at the same address in October and culminated in the seizure of six dogs, one of them in need of immediate veterinary care. Coverage from Witn has highlighted this story.

Craven County Animal Protective Services conducted an animal welfare check on Oct. 17 as part of an ongoing felony animal cruelty investigation, the agency said. That initial contact prompted further agency follow-up, and local reporting by WNCT outlined the sequence of agency contacts that preceded an application for a court-authorized search warrant.

https://x.com/WITN/status/1992051665801785525. Reporting by Wnct offers additional detail on this case.

Investigators returned to the property at 310 John Street on Oct. 30 with that court-authorized search warrant. During the execution of the warrant, Craven County Animal Protective Services located five additional dogs inside the residence and removed animals from the scene. In total, six dogs were recovered during the operation; all were seized by the agency and taken into custody for assessment and care, officials said.

Among the animals seized was a dog identified as Mixtape, who was described by the agency as severely injured. Mixtape was removed from the property and transported for immediate veterinary care and hospitalization. Agency personnel arranged medical attention for the injured dog as part of the seizure and intake process. The remaining animals located during the search were likewise placed into Craven County Animal Protective Services’ custody for evaluation and care.

Craven County Animal Protective Services led both the Oct. 17 welfare check and the Oct. 30 search-warrant execution at 310 John Street, according to reporting by WITN. The agency’s actions were tied directly to the ongoing felony animal cruelty investigation, and the removal of the animals followed the earlier welfare check and subsequent investigative steps, agency officials said in public statements summarized by local media. As covered by Yahoo, readers can explore more context around the event.

Authorities have connected the discovery and removal of the animals to the larger investigation into alleged cruelty. Because a court order had been issued barring the defendant from possessing animals during the investigation, the presence of animals at the residence prompted criminal charges tied to that violation. As a result of the alleged disobedience of that protective order, Midgette is being held without bond, local coverage by Yahoo reported.

Details released by the agencies and reported by local outlets note a clear timeline: initial welfare check on Oct. 17; further investigative activity and the decision to seek judicial authorization; and a return to the property on Oct. 30 with a court-authorized search warrant. The application for the warrant and the subsequent seizure were the direct outgrowth of the continuing felony-level investigation, according to the agency statements summarized in press reports.

All animals found during the Oct. 30 search were seized by Craven County Animal Protective Services and transported into agency custody for assessment, which includes health and welfare checks and, where needed, veterinary treatment. The agency specifically identified Mixtape as requiring immediate hospitalization due to the severity of injuries observed at the time of the seizure.

Local news organizations that covered the case have followed both the criminal and animal welfare aspects of the investigation. WITN provided initial reporting on the seizure and the condition of the injured dog, while WNCT documented the timeline of agency contacts leading to the warrant application. Yahoo’s reporting focused on the charges and the suspect’s bond status. Those outlets collectively provided the public with the sequence of events that led to the Oct. 30 action at the John Street address.

At this stage, the animals are in the custody of Craven County Animal Protective Services, where they will undergo assessments and receive care as determined necessary by the agency’s intake protocols. Officials have stated that the removals were conducted under the authority of the court-ordered warrant and were connected to the broader felony investigation into alleged animal cruelty at the residence.

The legal process stemming from the discovery and the alleged violation of the court order is ongoing. Midgette’s current detention without bond reflects the immediate consequence of the alleged breach of the order that barred him from having animals while the felony investigation proceeded. Local reporting continues to track both the status of the animals taken into custody and the progress of the criminal case.

Source

Original reporting: view the original article.