 Three kittens beaten to death
Fulton, NY (US)Date: Jul 7, 2004
Local Map: available
Disposition: Convicted
Abuser/Suspect: John C.R. Haggerty
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A Fulton man who admitted killing three kittens in July was sentenced to weekends in jail and probation.
John C.R. Haggerty, 21, of 102 S. Third St., Apt. 5, was ordered to serve 10 weekends in the Oswego County jail and remain on probation for three years. Fulton City Judge Spencer Ludington also told Haggerty he could not own pets for five years.
"I think it's clear John has some problems," defense lawyer David Hawthorne said.
Haggerty pleaded guilty July 21 to one misdemeanor count of torturing animals. He originally faced three felony counts of aggravated cruelty to animals.
Police say Haggerty hit his kittens so hard July 7 they began to bleed and choked on their blood.
Haggerty at first denied the charges, saying his brother-in-law killed the pets, but later admitted to what he had done.
"I spanked all three of them, maybe a little too hard," Haggerty told police July 12 in a written statement. "I hit them in the side and all three of them started bleeding from their mouth and nose. My wife Ann was crying and telling me, 'Please stop.' I was telling her to shut up. The cats were laying on the floor choking on their own blood."
"I'm sorry about killing the cats, but when they poop on the floor, I get mad," Haggerty continued. "I've always had an anger problem since I was young."
Haggerty told police he ordered his wife to stuff the dead cats into a plastic bag, which she threw in a trash can outside the apartment building.
"I will not touch dead animals," Haggerty said in his statement. "There's something about them, haunt me I guess, when I sleep and stuff."
Another resident in the building found the cats the next day.
Haggerty had bought the pets as a gift for his wife after an argument, he told police. The couple had the kittens about two weeks.
Haggerty's conviction may lead to new charges, Hawthorne said.
Haggerty had just begun to serve a probation sentence for a misdemeanor conviction in Granby Town Court when he was arrested on the animal cruelty charges, Hawthorne said.
"If he gets in trouble again, he'll be facing significant penalties," Hawthorne said.
As it is, Haggerty may be charged with a violation of probation count.
Haggerty also had two other criminal cases pending in Fulton City Court, both of which were resolved Wednesday.
On Aug. 18, he was charged with petit larceny for stealing a phone card from a Sunoco gas station in Fulton, police said.
In May, Haggerty was charged with criminal possession of a weapon, endangering the welfare of a child and second-degree menacing. Police say he pointed an air rifle, which resembled a real gun, at two people. A 12-year-old boy also was nearby, police said.
Haggerty pleaded guilty Wednesday to the petit larceny charge. He had pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a weapon May 26.
Ludington sentenced Haggerty to 10 weekends in jail and probation time for those charges as well. The three sentences will run concurrently, the judge said.
"I wish you luck," Ludington told Haggerty as the hearing ended. "I hope you do the work you need to get better. Get it together." Neighborhood MapFor more information about the Interactive Animal Cruelty Maps, see the map notes.
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