The attorney for a former Marlin Animal Control Officer facing animal cruelty charges claims she has been the target of ongoing harassment by local animal activists — accusations the group firmly denies.
- The defense attorney for Nicole Grams claims she has faced months of harassment, including threats, vandalism and stalking.
- Members of 'Justice for Marlin Dogs' deny all allegations, calling the claims baseless and demanding evidence or police reports.
- Grams’ legal team says they plan to pursue civil action for defamation once her animal cruelty case concludes in court this November.
Watch the full story here:
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
“Our main concern is that it just won’t stop,” said David Morrison, defense attorney for former Marlin Animal Control Officer Nicole Gram.
“There’s nothing in that evidence that points to us. Nothing in there points to the Justice for Marlin Dogs group, that is their assumption,” said ‘Justice for the Marlin Dogs’ member Dorothy Sanders.
On Wednesday, 25 News shared new evidence from the defense team of former Marlin animal control officer Nicole Grams.
She's currently facing three charges of animal cruelty.
But 25 News sat down with her legal team who tell us there’s another side of the story.
“The other part of this case that you never see is the harassment our client has faced. They have gone and stalked her, the ‘Justice for Marlin Dogs’ organization has sent her threatening letters, they have divulged her address,” said Morrison.
“Totally baseless, our core group did none of those things,” said ‘Justice for the Marlin Dogs’ member Frances Fischer.
“We have never stepped foot on her private property, we have never stepped foot and vandalized any of her property or vehicle, never sent a harassing letter and never sent any kind of threats,” said Sanders.
The defense shared photos of eggs, trash, and other items they say were thrown at Grams’ home.
25 News reporter Madison Myers asked members of the group if they were responsible for the vandalism.
“Absolutely not,” said Sanders.
Other photos show Grams truck vandalized — with the words ‘if they don’t get you, we will’ written on the back.
“I’m sorry but there is no denying that when your logo is a purple paw and it ends up on my clients truck at night that your organization is responsible,” said Morrison.
“That does not match any of the paw prints we put on our stuff," Sanders said. "This is totally bogus."
“Paw prints are known nationwide for dogs or animals,” said Fischer.
The group tells me if these things happened, Grams should have filed a police report.
They also say they’ve never been contacted by local law enforcement.
But according to Grams’ legal team, that could soon change.
“My message to the group is simply that this is defamation so once this case is resolved and Nicole Grams has resolved this criminal aspect, we will be pursuing some sort of civil action for those defaming statements made against her,” said Morrison.
“Please do, I’m ready for it,” said Fischer.
“Why wait until after the trial,” asked Sanders.
The trial is scheduled for Nov. 4 at 9 a.m. at the Falls County Courthouse.
