He wanted to be a lawyer but was charged with 8 felonies while taking admissions test

A Kathleen man taking a law school admissions test was carted off to jail Monday after authorities say he left puppies in his truck during the exam.

A woman walking past the Mercer University law school noticed the dogs in a truck, which had its windows cracked open, Bibb County Sheriff's Office Animal Enforcement Division manager Sonja Adams said.

When she returned a short time later and the animals were still in the vehicle, the woman called authorities.

Officers found eight puppies in the truck, and two of them were unconscious, Adams said.

They were revived, and all the animals were treated with emergency cool down procedures.

By tracing the license plate, authorities found 29-year-old Lawrence Benjamin Threat Jr. inside the law school.

He was arrested at about 3 p.m. and charged with eight felony counts of animal cruelty because the puppies were in dire condition, Adams said.

"The dogs had been out there for several hours by the time we got the call," Adams said. "It would have been bad if that lady hadn't called us."

Threat told officers he had driven up from Florida and he left them with a cooling mat on the floor board and water, although there was no water in the vehicle when officers arrived.

"They went through seven bowls of water while my officer was there," Adams said. "What's sad is he said he didn't have anybody who could watch them."

The puppies, which appeared to be some sort of malinois or German shepherd about eight or nine weeks old, were checked by a veterinarian.

Threat surrendered the dogs to animal enforcement officers, and they were picked up by the Atlanta Humane Society, Adams said.

Threat's attorney, J. Ryan Brown, said Threat has "extensive experience training dogs" and is an Air Force veteran.

"We believe that when all of the facts are revealed the evidence will establish that Mr. Threat is innocent beyond any doubt," Brown stated in an email to The Telegraph.

By mid afternoon Monday, the temperature reached 88 degrees at the Middle Georgia Regional Airport in Macon.

The temperature inside a vehicle can reach 143 degrees when the outside temperature is 90, according to a sheriff's office Facebook post.

"What's sad is even if you take precautionary measures ... you can't leave animals in a car for hours," Adams said.

Threat was released on a $45,000 bond, according to jail records.

This story was originally published June 12, 2018 at 1:49 PM with the headline "He wanted to be a lawyer but was charged with 8 felonies while taking admissions test."