COMER, Ga. — A Comer, Ga. man was arrested by the Madison County Sheriff’s Office for charges of animal cruelty and aggravated animal cruelty on Aug. 21.
The charges relate back to what deputies call a continuation of issues involving the man, Huy Vihn Dang Nguyen, 32.
The arrest affidavit details how Nguyen tampered with various processes at a poultry farm in Comer on Highway 191, which could have led to the deaths of chickens in six poultry houses at the farm.
Nguyen had been living on the farm and was an employee there. After a series of issues between owners Tan Kieve and Tylet Phan and Nguyen, he was asked to leave the property and informed him his job had been terminated.
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Speaking with the broiler field supervisor for Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation, deputies learned that the company had received a signal from the farm that temperatures in the farm’s poultry houses had risen significantly.
When the broiler field supervisor asked Tan to check the temperatures in the chicken houses for the welfare of the chickens, he discovered the water supply to all six buildings had been turned off.
The water fed into both the drinking water for the birds, and the cool cells used to enhance ventilation inside to cool down temperatures.
The supervisor told deputies that had the notification not come that the water was off, the chickens could have died due to the heat and lack of water. He told deputies that Tan felt that Nguyen had turned the water off in reaction to being told to leave the farm.
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Deputies wrote in the incident report that Nguyen had sent several threatening and disturbing messages to Pilgrim’s Pride employees.
Tan told deputies “that he understood why Pilgrim’s Pride did not want to send anyone out to the farm due to safety issues,” adding “that he was even fearful now that Huy may try to harm him or his wife.”
The farm owner agreed with the boiler field supervisor that “the chickens could have easily died had the water not been turned back on.”
Tan also said he felt Nguyen was mad about leaving the farm “and wanted to kill the chickens.”
Deputies worked with Tan to file legal paperwork to evict Nguyen officially from the farm, which he was served with while in custody at the Madison County Sheriff’s Office.
In an interview with sheriff’s deputies, Nguyen described “issues and disagreements he had with Pilgrim’s Pride,” saying all of them revolved around disagreements of how to raise the chickens.
Deputies discussed the threatening messages Nguyen had reportedly sent to the company’s employees and admitted he understood the reason the employees may have felt threatened, and that he had a drug problem.
Nguyen told deputies he was using cocaine, but denied attempting to harm the chickens.
Deputies said Nguyen “never would admit that he turned the water off,” and “denied that he turned the water off, saying that he loved the chickens and would never hurt them.”
The chickens have since been taken to another farm to “finish the grow out,” according to the broiler supervisor. The broiler contract is also temporarily inactive, pending an investigation of the farm, according to the sheriff’s deputy report.
Nguyen was released on a $7,250 bond on Friday, according to deputies. He is barred from returning to the farm or contacting the owners, or anyone associated with Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation.
Pilgrim’s released a statement on Thursday night that said the Pilgrim’s Athens facility was temporarily closed because of a planned expansion of the plant.
They add that Nguyen was not a Pilgrim’s employee and instead worked with one of their grower partners.
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