Case Details
Case Snapshot
Case ID: 8220
Classification: Shooting
Animal: cat
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Case #8220 Rating: 3.5 out of 5



Four cats shot
Partlow, VA (US)

Incident Date: Wednesday, Apr 19, 2006
County: Spotsylvania

Disposition: Convicted

Defendant/Suspect: 17 year old boy

Case Updates: 2 update(s) available

Spotsylvania County animal control authorities are investigating the deaths of four cats found at a trash drop-off site in Partlow.

The cats were apparently strays who lived around the Cole Hill Creek drop-off site on Partlow Road.

A woman who had been feeding the felines found the remains on the morning of April 19. Animal control officers collected the carcasses.

Willy Tydings, the county's animal control director, said shell casings were found near the remains, but he declined to say if the cats had been shot. The carcasses are being sent off for necropsies.

Thea Verdak, president of the Rappahannock Humane Society, said she got a call about the dead cats yesterday morning. She said she was told the cats had been shot "and a couple of them appeared to have been eviscerated."

"It's an abhorrent situation," Verdak said.

Tydings said he expects to get a clearer picture of what happened to the cats from the necropsies. The results could come back by the end of this week or early next week.

Verdak said Partlow residents have told her that abandoned animals are a common sight at the Cole Hill Creek trash site.

"Apparently [it] has been a dumping ground for animals for years, including puppies, kittens and cats that have been living there ferally," Verdak said. "It's very inhumane."

Tydings urged county residents bothered by stray or feral cats to contact his office, saying the animals can be safely trapped.

"If anybody has a stray cat they need to get rid of, they need to do it humanely," he said. "We sure don't condone any kind of animal abuse, especially shooting animals."

He also asked that anyone with information about the dead cats call animal control at 540/507-7460.


Case Updates

A Spotsylvania County teenager has been sentenced to 50 hours of community service for shooting and killing feral cats at a trash dump.

The Partlow teen, who was 17 at the time of the offense, was convicted in June of three counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty. He was charged after four dead feral cats were found at the Cole Hill trash site in April. His name hasn't been released because he committed the offenses as a juvenile.

Spotsylvania animal control officers began investigating the cats' deaths after a woman who had been feeding the animals found their bodies.

The judge convicted him of misdemeanors after determining that the boy did not intend to torture the cats.

Spotsylvania prosecutor Kim Hackbarth said the boy told investigators that he didn't stay to watch the cats die, which Hackbarth said would have indicated torture. He said he didn't know why he did it and is sorry for what happened.

Hackbarth said the teen has already done about 40 hours of community service with the SPCA. The judge tacked on another 50 hours of community service to that.
Source: NBC 4 - Sept 8, 2006
Update posted on Sep 11, 2006 - 11:17PM 
A 17-year-old Spotsylvania boy has been charged in connection with the deaths of four cats whose bodies were found at a Partlow trash drop-off site last month.

County Animal Control Director Willie Tydings said yesterday that the juvenile faces four felony charges of cruelty to animals and a pair of misdemeanor firearms counts.

Authorities are withholding the suspect's name because he is a juvenile.

Tydings filed the charges late Friday afternoon with Spotsylvania's Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court. As of yesterday afternoon, the juvenile petitions hadn't been delivered to the Sheriff's Office.

Sheriff Howard Smith said he doesn't expect his office will have to track down the defendant.

"I've talked to the young man's parents, and as soon as the petitions come, they're going to bring him down here for us to serve them on him," Smith said yesterday.

Tydings' office started investigating the cats' deaths April 19 when a woman found the bodies at the Cole Hill Creek trash site. The woman had been feeding stray felines that lived in the area.

Necropsy results showed that the cats had been shot to death.

Spotsylvania's county code makes it a felony if an animal dies due to torture, inhumane treatment or because someone "unnecessarily beats, maims, mutilates or kills any animal whether belonging to himself or another."

Penalties for conviction range from up to one to five years in jail and/or fines of up to $2,500.

Tydings said he hopes potential animal abusers are paying attention. "It's against the law to shoot any animal like that, and we're going to enforce it," he said.

Thea Verdak, president of the Rappahannock Humane Society, praised Tydings' department for its speedy investigation and for taking the case "very seriously."

She also is hoping the case will help set a tone.

"If this goes to court and there's a conviction, it will set a precedent in Spotsylvania County. That, in itself, is amazing," she said.
Source: Fredericksburg.Com - May 2, 2006
Update posted on May 2, 2006 - 12:44PM 

References

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