- Florida, USA -
⚠️WARNING⚠️The article contains pictures some of you may find distressing⚠️
The Lee County Sheriff’s Office arrested 29-year-old JAMESHA EDWINA ROLLINS (pictured).
ROLLINS is accused of abandoning two dogs without food or water resulting in their death.
On the early evening of March 18, 2025, deputy Dressel was dispatched to a home on 5603 Ninth Avenue in Fort Myers after a neighbor reported that they last saw the people living at the home a month or two before. The neighbor added that on March 15, they saw someone they did not recognize at the home checking on the dogs.
The neighbor went on to state that on March 17, they noticed a foul smell coming from the home, and the smell got worse the next day.
When the deputy arrived at the home, he met with Sgt. Vanpelt of the Animal Cruelty Unit who was already on the scene.
Sgt. Vanpelt had gone into the backyard of the neighbor in an attempt to locate the dogs. Sgt. Vanpelt told deputy Dressel that he saw what appeared to be two deceased dogs in cages.
Meanwhile, more personnel from the sheriff's office responded to the scene. The neighbor said that they never saw ROLLINS or the man living at the home walking the dogs or “interacting with them”, stated the affidavit.
A detective knocked on the door of 5603 Ninth Avenue, but no one answered.
The detective followed the foul odor, and behind the wooden fence in the residence's backyard, a black metal cage was observed with two dogs clearly in a decomposed state.
The detective then authored a residential search warrant which was approved by the Honorable Michael T. McHugh.
In the fenced-in backyard, the detective found a medium-sized brown and white Pitbull mix with a red collar, and a medium-sized brown Frenchie inside their metal crates with locked doors. In each crate there was an empty bowl and there was no sign of any food.
The furvictims were then removed and turned over to Lee County Domestic Animal Services.
Necropsies were performed on the dogs and the findings revealed that the Pitbull was an intact female approximately 2 to 5 years old and the other dog, a Bulldog, was an intact female approximately 1 to 4 years old.
Radiology results for the Pitbull revealed "an equivocal small bone fragment in the frontal sinuses and no additional evidence of osseous trauma, and confirmed severe, widespread gas accumulation through the body."
The same test run on the Bulldog showed "no evidence of osseous trauma and confirmed severe, widespread gas accumulation throughout the body."
ROLLINS was arrested on October 31, 2025, and transported to the Lee County Jail. She was booked on two misdemeanor counts of abandonment of an animal and two felony counts of aggravated animal cruelty, excessive pain/death. She was released the following evening after posting bond.
Court records show that ROLLINS is scheduled to be arraigned in Lee County Circuit Court on December 1, 2025, at 8:30 a.m.
Authorities did not disclose the furvictims’ names, so I took the liberty of naming them Luna and Stella (Italian for Moon and Star), for the tribute image. Should their given names be made public, I will rectify them accordingly.
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Voice For Us Disclaimer: This story is sourced from the affidavit provided to Voice For Us by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office. Please note that details may be removed or new information added should updates become available.
In the case of charges being dropped, dismissed, or the case being purged, this article will be rectified accordingly, if official documentation is provided to Voice For Us.
ROLLINS’ mugshot shared from the Lee County Sheriff's Office.
Pictures provided to Voice For Us by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.
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