Texas Prosecutor Refuses Even to Confirm or Deny Charges for Boy Accused of Fatally Shooting Cat

In mid-March, a PETA caseworker wrote to a Cherokee County, Texas, prosecutor regarding a cruelty-to-animals case in his jurisdiction. That prosecutor’s response was, to say the least, disappointing. We hope that you will take a moment to share your thoughts on this matter with the prosecutor.

The suspect in this case is a 13-year-old Alto, Texas, boy. According to news sources, the boy is accused of fatally shooting Tetsu, his neighbors’ cat, on that family’s property on January 4. One family member told investigators that—after hearing a gunshot—she ran outside her home to hear the rifle-holding suspect admit that he had just killed a cat and see him point in the direction of the dead animal. Two days later, a local veterinarian wrote that Tetsu had several broken bones and fatally injured internal organs. The veterinarian found these injuries to be consistent with gunshot wounds, which he declared were the cause of the animal’s death.

Three buckshot pellets were reportedly removed from the cat, and—according to a Sheriff’s Department’s supplemental report—a 12-gauge shotgun and two spent buckshot shotgun shells were recovered from the scene.

As a result of this incident, the boy should be charged with the state jail felony crime of cruelty to animals, given that Penal Code § 42.09(a) states that one commits that offense when he intentionally or knowingly kills an animal belonging to another person without legal authority or the owner’s effective consent. Things looked promising when a deputy referred this matter—case 07-SO-0026J—to the office of Craig Caldwell, the Cherokee County Attorney, on January 4.

A month later, however, the chief of the county’s juvenile probation division told a local newspaper that there would be no arrest in the case.

PETA’s letter reminded Caldwell that crimes against animals—no matter whom the perpetrator is—must not be swept under the rug. We informed him that the consequences of not taking action may be fatal for victims of many species—especially when the accused is a juvenile—and asked that he charge the suspect or tell the cat’s guardian why he chose not to do so.

Caldwell’s five-sentence reply claimed that “this case is being handled in an appropriate manner” and cited Texas laws that prohibit him from releasing records and files—but do not prevent him from stating whether there are charges—on a juvenile matter.

Please respectfully demand that Caldwell promptly charge the suspect to the fullest extent of the law. Remind him that you are not asking for any information on this case that he is obliged to protect—only that he let you and PETA know that he has charged or will soon be charging this boy for the heinous crime that, evidently, he so clearly committed.

Please send polite comments to:

The Honorable Craig Caldwell
Cherokee County Attorney’s Office
P.O. Box 320
Rusk, TX 75785
903-683-2423
903-683-5931 (fax)
DP8231