CONVICTED: Was justice served?
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Case #10093 Rating: 3.8 out of 5
Cat shot with .22
Denver, PA (US)Incident Date: Tuesday, Jun 20, 2006
County: Lancaster
Disposition: Convicted
Defendant/Suspect: Joseph Klaassen
An 81-year-old Denver man who shot and killed a cat when it wandered into his yard in June paid more than $300 in costs and restitution Tuesday.
Joseph Klaassen, of 286 W. Maple Grove Road, pleaded guilty to summary cruelty to animals. He paid $119.50 in court costs and $205 for a veterinary bill for a postmortem examination, a court official said.
Keith Mohler, a Farm Sanctuary of Pennsylvania officer, charged Klaassen with misdemeanor willful malicious killing of a cat about two weeks after the June 20 slaying. Klaassen agreed to plead guilty to the lesser charge to avoid a hearing before New Holland District Judge Rodney Hartman.
Klaassen shot the female orange tabby with a .22-caliber rifle as it walked with its two kittens. The cat died in the yard, and the kittens fled unhurt.
A 16-year-old girl who lives next door to Klaassen had been taking care of the cats. She witnessed the shooting and contacted Mohler.
"It was traumatizing for the girl to look out her bedroom window and see the cat shot and killed," Mohler said.
After shooting the cat, Klaassen left it in the yard, then later moved it to a nearby field. Mohler removed the cat the next day.
Klaassen admitted during an interview with Mohler to shooting the cat. He also showed Mohler the carcass.
"He didn't like the cat on his property, so he shot it," Mohler said. "In his mind, it was the easiest way to deal with what he thought was a growing cat problem."
A veterinarian at Smoketown Veterinary Hospital examined the cat and confirmed it had been shot. The kittens were adopted by an employee at the veterinary hospital, Mohler said.
Lancaster County Assistant District Attorney Christine Wilson negotiated the guilty plea Tuesday with Klaassen's attorney, John C. Stevens. References- Intelligencer Journal - Aug 16, 2006
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