CANYON LAKE -- A Comal County sheriff's deputy, terminated in 2014 after allegations she stole a German Shepherd from a front yard, could still be criminally charged, the county's district attorney has confirmed.
Julie Prescott, a nine-year veteran of the sheriff's office, was accused of taking the dog from the front yard of a Canyon Lake home on the 100 block of Burr Oak and returning it only after the dog's owner filed a criminal complaint.
"At 4:30 in the morning, she came back in her police cruiser, on duty still, and unloaded my dog, put it back on the leash, beat on my door, threatened me, then left," owner Joe Myers told the I-Team on Tuesday.
Myers said that he turned over surveillance video of Prescott taking and returning the dog, as well as a cell phone with text messages and phone calls from Prescott, expressing interest in purchasing the dog from him.
Myers, who says Prescott asked to buy 'Sergeant' while serving him a warrant, claims that the dog was eventually confiscated by animal control for having too short of a leash.
The Comal County Sheriff's Office of criminal investigations captain confirmed on Tuesday that the criminal investigation of Prescott carried into 2015 and was eventually forwarded to the Comal County District Attorney's Office.
Comal County declined to release Prescott's personnel file following an open records request from the I-Team late last month, citing the on-going criminal investigation.
Myers said that investigators informed him last month that there was insufficient evidence to prosecute Prescott.
However, the district attorney's office confirmed on Tuesday that it reopened the case after getting additional information from Myers.
Prescott responded to a request for comment Tuesday by calling from a blocked number, but hung up before addressing the allegations.
Sources familiar with the case have indicated that Prescott took the dog out of concern for its well-being, and only after she believed Myers agreed to give it up.