CONVICTED: Was justice served?
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Case #4214 Rating: 4.6 out of 5
Neighbor shoots cat with rifle
Joliet, IL (US)Incident Date: Wednesday, Sep 2, 1998
County: Will
Disposition: Convicted
Defendant/Suspect: Rollie Dorsey
Rollie Dorsey told Joliet police the cat wandered into his backyard and bit his 4-year old daughter on the hand so he shot the cat.
The cat survived a .22-caliber bullet gunshot to the chest. The cat called Flx (pronounced Flicks) was shot on September 2.
Dorsey was issued a $75 ticket but now at the owner's request he faces gun charges.
The owner of the cat, Mary Bergeson, said Flx was missing when she got home September 2 and a day later she and her husband found him wedged between the deck and the house.
Bergeson said, "We pulled him out and he started gushing blood, then he keeled over and passed out." The cat was treated by a veterinarian. "He didn't know if he was going to make it or not. The bullet went between his ribs and somehow missed all the vital organs before it came out the other side. They say a cat has nine lives. I think this one has only got one left."
A neighbor told Bergeson that Dorsey was boasting about shooting a cat. Bergeson called police, who issued a $75 ticket for criminal damage to property, which Dorsey promptly paid.
Police later tried to file a weapons charge but were told by the state's attorney that since Dorsey had already paid the fine on the first charge he could not be charged again.
Police asked Dorsey to turn in the rifle. Dorsey did turn in the rifle and the state's attorney filed a misdemeanor charge of possession of a weapon without a firearm owner's ID card. The new charge stems from another occasion when Dorsey was in possession of the rifle.
Bergeson said she doesn't believe Flx bit Dorsey's daughter.
Bergeson said firing a weapon close to other homes should have merited more serious action by authorities. "The bullet could have ricocheted and gone through a window."
References
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