Two Wal-Mart employees who police say followed a manager's orders to shoot and kill a stray cat have been charged with felony animal cruelty. The men, both assistant managers at the Supercenter, were arrested and released after a court appearance Wednesday.
Christopher Anderson, 29, and Jeffrey Hardin, 21, told police the store's manager ordered them to get rid of the animal that was living in a storage trailer behind their store.
All managers potentially involved in the incident have been suspended without pay pending an internal investigation and could be fired, said Wal-Mart spokeswoman Sharon Weber.
"We were outraged when we learned of this incident. This kind of action is completely inconsistent with the way we do business," she said.
A truck driver who reported the incident said he saw store employees placing what he believed to be a dead animal in shrink wrap a day after he heard workers joking about shooting the cat.
Store manager Darrel Weitzel told police he had told some of his employees to get a gun and get rid of the cat after attempts to coax it from the trailer failed, according to a police report.
Anderson and Hardin repeatedly shot the cat with a pellet gun from the store until it died the following day, a Vanderburgh County Sheriff's Department report said.
Anderson and Hardin were scheduled for a hearing January 4. Case Updates| Posted on May 15, 2005 - 5:44AM | A former Wal-Mart employee accused of shooting a cat to death will face felony charges after all.
The animal cruelty charge against Christopher S. Anderson had been dropped to a misdemeanor, but Anderson�s attorney, Michael C. Keating, stated that a Vanderburgh County judge had dismissed that charge.
Keating said the judge ruled Anderson could not be charged with a misdemeanor unless he had beaten the cat rather than shot it.
Prosecutors then refiled the felony charge.
Keating acknowledged that his client shot the cat, but said the charge was out of proportion to the crime and Anderson would fight it.
Indiana�s felony animal cruelty statute requires a finding that a defendant knowingly mutilated or tortured an animal.
Sheriff�s deputies arrested Anderson, 29, and another former store employee, Jeffrey Hardin, 21, on Dec. 28.
Anderson told investigators that he shot the cat with a pellet gun after the store manager ordered employees to get rid of the animal, which was living in a storage trailer behind the store on the city�s east side.
The cat was wounded but survived, a sheriff�s report said, and the next day Anderson and Hardin repeatedly shot the cat with a pellet gun until it died. | | Source: FortWaynes.com - May 15, 2005 |
| Posted on Jan 6, 2005 - 4:53AM | Two former Wal-Mart employees did not break state law when they shot and killed a cat on store property, said an attorney for one of the men.
Attorney Michael Keating said Indiana law allows people to kill stray animals on their property.
�Had they taken a shotgun with a deer slug and blown it into little bitty pieces, no crime would have been committed,� he said Tuesday.
�You can shoot a stray animal on your property; that�s been the law in Indiana since the time of the formation of the state,� said Keating, who represents former assistant manager Christopher Anderson.
Vanderburgh County sheriff�s deputies arrested Anderson, 29, and another former assistant manager, Jeffrey Hardin, 21, on Dec. 28.
Anderson told investigators that he shot the cat with a pellet gun after the manager ordered employees to get rid of the animal, which was living in a storage trailer behind the store on the city�s east side.
The cat was wounded but survived, a sheriff�s report said, and the next day Anderson and Hardin repeatedly shot the cat with a pellet gun until it died.
Vanderburgh County Prosecutor Stan Levco said Tuesday that he had decided not to file charges against former store manager Darrel Weitzel after investigators determined Weitzel had not ordered Anderson to kill the cat.
Anderson and Hardin initially were arrested on felony animal cruelty charges. Those charges were dismissed Tuesday, and Levco said he would file misdemeanor charges against the men.
Wal-Mart said Tuesday that four managers and an hourly employee were fired for violating company policy after an internal investigation of the incident. Spokeswoman Sharon Weber said she could not release their names because of company policy.
The Arkansas-based retailer condemned the shooting and pledged to donate $10,000, which would be split between pet groups in Vanderburgh County and neighboring Warrick County.
The Vanderburgh County Humane Society had not been contacted about the donation as of Tuesday, said director Kendall Paul. | | Source: The Journal Gazette - Jan 6, 2005 |
| Posted on Dec 30, 2004 - 9:23PM | We were sickened by this cruelty," Kevin D. Miller, regional vice president for the Arkansas-based retailer, said in a news release Thursday.
"After an internal investigation, we terminated the three associates we know to be involved," the release said. The company did not name the employees who were fired.
The company also plans to donate $10,000 to split between the Vanderburgh County and Warrick County Humane Societies in Indiana, the release said. | | Source: WHAS - Dec 30, 2004 |
References | CNN |  | The Indy Channel - Dec 30, 2004 | | The Daily Comet - Dec 30, 2004 | | WHAS - Dec 30, 2004 | | Muzi News - Dec 30, 2004 (chinese website) | | NBC Sports - Dec 30, 2004 | | WISH-TV - Dec 30, 2004 | | CBS News | | Miami Herald - Dec 30, 2004 | | The Washington Times - Dec 30, 2004 | | WHAS - Dec 30, 2004 | | WAVE 3 - Jan 5, 2005 |
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