Pegues jury convicts on five misdemeanors, hung on two felonies

A Lafayette County jury convicted Terry Pegues on five misdemeanor counts and could not reach a verdict on two felony animal cruelty charges, leaving the felony case in mistrial after a trial that opened at the Lafayette County Courthouse on July 13. The mixed result means the misdemeanor convictions stand, while the most serious accusations tied to dead and malnourished dogs remain unresolved for now.

Pegues testified on July 14, and the defense rested that same day before jurors returned their split verdict on July 15. The courtroom outcome matters immediately because the misdemeanor convictions now carry sentencing consequences, while the hung felony counts leave prosecutors to decide whether to seek another trial, negotiate a resolution, or let the case end there.

The mistrial keeps the felony allegations alive in a case that has already drawn strong local attention in Lafayette County. A split verdict often reflects a jury that agreed some conduct crossed a criminal line but could not unanimously agree that the higher charges were proven beyond a reasonable doubt. In practical terms, that means the same evidence that supported five guilty findings was not enough to produce agreement on the two felony counts.

Any retrial would return the case to the Lafayette County Courthouse and use more court time, juror time and county resources. That adds a public cost to a prosecution that already stretched across multiple days of testimony and argument, and it leaves the most serious allegations unanswered unless prosecutors choose to bring them back before another jury.

Pegues’ case began after deputies found dead and malnourished dogs, and it later became part of a broader animal cruelty dispute that reached beyond the criminal docket. In Lafayette County, the verdict now shifts the focus from the allegations themselves to sentencing on the misdemeanors and the next move on the felonies.