Gary D. Hardesty, 35, has been convicted and sentenced to 90 days in jail (half of that time was suspended), fined $250 and placed on supervised probation for two years. He was found guilty of animal cruelty and being disorderly in a public place in Garrett County. He was found not guilty of malicious destruction of property by Judge Paul Stakem. Hardesty was intoxicated at the time of the incident. The judge has ordered him to seek alcoholic counseling during his probation.
Hardesty, a Deer Park man, asked three children who were carrying a kitten if he could hold the kitten while they went into a hardware store in Grantsville. The children let him hold the kitten and when they came out of the hardware store a few minutes later saw Hardesty kicking the kitten across the roadway until it died.
The State Police confirmed Hardesty sustained bites and scratches to his hand as a result of the incident. The dead kitten will be checked for rabies.
The record states Hardesty "did cause, procure, and authorize the torture, cruel beating and cruel killing of a cat which was the property of Sandy L. Wilt." Neighborhood MapFor more information about the Interactive Animal Cruelty Maps, see the map notes.
Back to Top References | Cumberland Times, Maryland - June 19, 1991 | | The Republican, Oakland, MD - Sept 3, 1991 |
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