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Case #1149 Rating: 2.5 out of 5
Reindeer shot
Butte, AK (US)Incident Date: Wednesday, Jan 1, 2003
County: Matanuska Susitna
Disposition: Convicted
Defendant/Suspect: Caleb G. Bennett
Case Updates: 1 update(s) available
Authorities are looking for a 20-year-old Butte man suspected of shooting seven reindeer (five fatally) at a farm near Palmer in January. Caleb G. Bennett, a former employee at the Williams Reindeer Farm in Butte, is believed to have left the state, Alaska State Troopers said.
"Since we have not contacted him, we don't have the benefit having a motive he might share with us," Capt. Dennis Casanovas said Friday.
Bennett was indicted on five counts of criminal mischief following a two-month investigation by troopers. The District Attorney's office also has charged Bennett with seven counts of animal cruelty and one count of weapons misconduct.
The charges carry penalties that total a maximum of 33 years in prison and $330,000 in fines. Leads from local residents helped investigators narrow their focus to Bennett, Casanovas said.
"The public in general was so outraged by this cruelty to animals," Casanovas said. "It's very refreshing to see the level of cooperation from the community that helped us solve this case."
The reindeer were shot with a .22-caliber rifle in the early morning hours of Jan. 1. One of the animals was killed immediately, two others had to be euthanized and two died of the wounds the following day. The animals were valued at a total of $15,000.
Troopers believe Bennett was the snowmachiner who stopped at the fence of the farm, shot the animals, then sped off. Bennett had briefly worked for farm owners Tom and Gene Williams in 1998.
Farm owner Tom Williams saw the snowmachine rider after hearing shots about 5 a.m. that morning, but it was too dark for him to make an identity. Williams followed the snowmachiner in a vehicle up and down roads in the Butte area, south of Palmer, until he lost him an hour later.
Troopers said a Butte man was so angry about the shootings he spent several hours following the suspect's distinctive tracks that morning. The tracks led to a house on Juniper Street.
Another tip came from a Butte woman whose cable service was cut off that morning. Repair crews found parts of a snowmachine that had damaged a cable box.
Troopers found a damaged snowmachine at the Juniper Street home as well as firearms, including one that matched the cartridges left at the reindeer farm.
Casanovas said Bennett was linked to the home but he declined to elaborate.
Case Updateshas been sentenced to a year in jail for shooting five reindeer at a popular Butte tourist attraction.
Caleb G. Bennett also was ordered to pay more than $15,000 in restitution for the Jan. 31 shootings at Williams Reindeer Farm, under terms of a plea bargain announced Friday in Palmer Superior Court.
Bennett entered a no contest plea to three charges related to the shootings, one of them a felony. A former employee of the farm who lives in the Butte, Bennett will be formally sentenced on Feb. 9. Until then, he must remain in 24-hour "sight and sound" custody of his father, Superior Court Judge Beverly Cutler ordered.
At about 5 a.m. the day of the shootings, Bennett rode a snowmachine up to a fence surrounding the reindeer farm. He got off the machine and shot the reindeer with a .22-caliber rifle. Two of the animals were pregnant. One was killed outright, two others had to be euthanized, and two died of their wounds later | Source: Alaska Digest
Update posted on Sep 24, 2004 - 4:42PM |
References
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