I. Question Presented
Under Florida Law, did Jessie Veyas recklessly discharge a firearm or commit animal cruelty, due to the claims that she was in an altered level of consciousness and that she acted in self defense?
II. Brief Answer
Yes. Jessie Veyas recklessly discharged the firearm because she didn’t take reasonable actions to prevent the hallucinations, that are caused by her PTSD episodes. Also she committed animal cruelty because the horse was not displaying behaviors that would require self-defense.
III. Facts
Jessie Veyas is a police officer,and military veteran. After being discharged from service she was diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Her psychiatrist prescribed her the appropriate medication,
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Argument
As we know, Jessie Veyas shot a blind horse multiple times while out for her evening walk. She claimed that she did it in self-defense because the horse was going to attack her. When the crime scene was investigated, the horse was found dead, still in the field with the fence unbroken. According to the Florida Statute, I 828.12, cruelty to animals is defined as a person who unnecessarily mutilates or kills any animal. She is in violation of this law because the horse was not a threat to her or her dog, she shot and killed the horse unnecessarily.
When Veyas shot the horse, Veyas was on road walking her dog and the horses was inside of a fence near the road. The owner of the farm was also sitting on the porch of her house when this event unfolded. This is significant because as stated in Florida Statute I 790.15, discharging firearms in public or a residential property is stated as “any person who knowingly discharges a firearm in any public place or on the right-of-way of any paved public road, highway, or street... or over any occupied premises.” Veyas knowingly discharged her police-issued gun on a road with Amy Jenkins within seeing and hearing distance, on the porch of her