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'Urban Cowboy' still free despite numerous animal abuse claims; critics blame DA

Horse advocates are coming together against an alleged serial abuser, who has had animal control called to his house more than 20 times.

FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — Animal Advocates are furious that the man who calls himself the Urban Cowboy,  an alleged abuser, is still able to own horses after all of the complaints against him... 

Now, 11Alive has uncovered the deal he made with the district attorney to avoid jail time.

"We failed, we failed them. We failed the horses that were returned," Cynthis Heaton said. 

She rehabilitates horses.

But the ones seized from Brandon Fulton are no longer in her care. Fulton is known as the Urban Cowboy, riding horses on Camp Creek Parkway.

Cynthia first met him in 2016 when she was called to rescue injured and malnourished horses from his property.

"Those horses were tethered to trees, not a stitch of food, no hay on the property. And during that time he was arrested again, so we were called in to get the second round of horses," she said. 

But that was far from the first time authorities investigated Fulton’s care of animals. 11Alive went back through years of complaints and found at least 25.

'Urban Cowboy' responds to abuse claims

We asked Brandon Fulton to explain why animal control has been called to his property more than 17 times in the past two years. 

"I’m a great man. Of wisdom, knowledge and integrity. I don’t know about no horse being in the trailer since Saturday night," Fulton said. "I’ve been to trial several times. A horse can go 72 hours without water. I train horses to get in and out of trailers. I put that horse in the trailer to make sure she eats all her food." 

When the case went to trial, rescuers said the prosecutor wasn't prepared and the six animal cruelty charges against Fulton were dismissed.

He was convicted of animal cruelty against a cow.

"Our hands are tied because, legally, we have no authority or jurisdiction to do anything about it," said animal advocate Candace Taylor. 

"As a law-abiding citizen, I expect our officials to do their job. To prosecute offenders to the fullest extent of their ability," Heaton said. "This seemed like the most open and shut cases and cruelty I've ever seen and for the charges to be dismissed, it was beyond unreal."

A recorded conversation with DA Paul Howard

Online, Brandon Fulton posted a recording of a conversation he had with Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard a day before those charges were dropped. 

It's clear Howard doesn't know he's being recorded after Fulton followed him into a store. It sounds like Howard tells Fulton the charges will be taken care of.  

“I got you. We got you. I told her to dismissed those charges," Howard said on-camera said. "We will get it taken care of." 

That video has since been removed from Fulton’s YouTube page.  

The Fulton district attorney's office responds

In a statement, the district attorney's office said the following: 

“My office would never make a charging decision without a complete and in-depth examination of the facts, including the case involving Mr. Brandon Fulton. A representative for district attorney sites lab tests on the dead horses failed to provide concrete evidence of abuse and neglect as the cause of death."

But animal advocates said they've never seen a more clear cut case of abuse. 

"It should have been open and shut. The fact that these charges keep getting dismissed is unreal," said Heaton. 

"The horses need to be protected. Somebody is going to have to step in and enforce the same laws and same codes that everyone else has to abide by to protect the animals," said Taylor. 

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