Kelontre Demorious Barefield of Cleveland appeared before the Canton Municipal Court today, where numerous charges were added to his docket.
He originally appeared on January 9th and was charged with aggravated burglary and assaulting or harassing a police dog – as a 4th degree felony.
Today, additional charges include having a weapon under disability, discharging a firearm on or near prohibited premises, and two counts of felonious assault on an officer. The complaint for assaulting the dog was upgraded to a 3rd degree felony due to Jethro’s death.
His bond was set at $5 million by Judge Richard J. Kubilus. Barefield is no stranger to the courts in Stark County, having been charged with at least seven crimes going back to 2012. I don’t have access to his juvenile record, but I’d be willing to bet it is not pretty.
The reason I’m telling you this in such detail is that I want to urge everyone to let the legal system do its thing. I have seen numerous threats on social media, both against Barefield and against some of the trolls who are posting rude observations about K9s on Facebook and elsewhere.
Please keep this in mind: Jethro died while enforcing the law. One of our most precious laws is that idiots (and others) have an absolute right to say whatever they want to say. Please don’t take the bait and get yourself in trouble for threatening or committing assault against someone who is simply not worth your time. Hatred and violence have never solved anything since the dawn of time.
So, that’s my two-cents worth. *Stepping off my soapbox now.*
Until next time,
Good day, and good dog!
I’ll add, Jethro died while enforcing the law. Laws we all need in order to maintain a civil and somewhat safe society that are maintained in place by such officers both Human and K9 that protect us all against the many Barefields and other trolls that are against or don’t like laws or the legal arm that enforces them on our behalf.