A Jefferson County man is facing animal cruelty charges after police say he admitted to killing his neighbor’s cat with a blow gun dart.
On May 5, police said they were called to a home along Elk Street in Punxsutawney after receiving a report of animal cruelty, according to reports from WTAJ and WJAC.
Once there, a woman told police that her cat, named Trunks, had gone missing for two days when her neighbor Leroy Hazlett, 37, came to tell her that he found the animal in his driveway.
According to court documents, the cat was lying dead in the man’s driveway and had an orange blow dart stuck in its neck, WTAJ said.
When confronted by neighbors, Hazlett admitted to shooting the cat in an attempt to scare it away as it was “trying to kill my birds.”
Police said another neighbor told them Hazlett has a reputation for killing animals in the area, including shooting squirrels with the same darts.
When questioned by police, Hazlett told them the cat would relieve itself under his porch and get into his trash bags. He said he fired the dart gun at it to make it run away but was not trying to hit it, WTAJ said.
Hazlett is being charged with felony aggravated cruelty to animals, cruelty to animals and illegally discharging a firearm. He has a preliminary hearing scheduled for next month, WJAC said.
