A Lawrence man accused of shooting a stray cat twice last May is taking his case to trial, and his attorney says he has an alibi.
Lawrence Municipal Court officials said Tuesday a judge scheduled a Jan. 19 trial for Jimmy R. Wilkins, 73, who faces charges of animal cruelty and discharging a firearm in the city limits. Lawrence police said animal control officers rescued the 2-year-old cat, later named Bullet, from a trap at a mobile home park in the 100 block of Michigan Street. Police said a witness alleged he heard a neighbor shoot what sounded like a gun earlier in the day and then observed the cat in the trap.
Officers said the cat had been shot twice.
But Wilkins’ defense attorney Hatem Chahine said Tuesday he was filing a motion for an alibi witness to show Wilkins was visiting his sister that Memorial Day weekend and not in the area when the shooting occurred. Chahine said Wilkins and his wife are animal lovers and that his family has often given stray cats they’ve trapped to the humane society or released them in other areas.
“He’s very concerned about animals,” Chahine said. “They love animals, and these charges are adversely affecting him.”
According to the Lawrence Humane Society, Bullet recovered from his injuries. A family later adopted him.
Comments
budtugly 1 year, 5 months ago
Ridiculous
beatrice 1 year, 5 months ago
I hope Bullet spends its last 7 lives as an indoor cat.
kawrivercrow 1 year, 5 months ago
"Police said a witness alleged he heard a neighbor shoot what sounded like a gun earlier in the day and then observed the cat in the trap."
Well, that settles it then. An alibi means nothing when refuted by ambiguous and circumstantial evidence concerning what could be two unrelated events.
BTW, anybody here ever slam a dumpster lid down hard? What's it sound like? You don't even have to slam it, just let it fall under its own weight. Better yet if you let the wind catch it.
Pywacket 1 year, 5 months ago
Yes, and bullets typically show up in nearby animals after the lids of those dumpsters have been slammed. The article states that the cat HAD been shot--twice. Obviously, this does not prove who fired the shot but it shouldn't be too hard to identify the weapon that was used and to find out who owns it....unless it has gone missing. I suppose that will come out in the trial.
Jane 1 year, 5 months ago
Up certainly is down in Larrytown. He should be penalized for being such a poor shot!
srj 1 year, 5 months ago
Makes sense. Cat stuck in a trap overnight, the guy out of town. Someone that lives near it want to shut the cat up.
misplacedcheesehead 1 year, 5 months ago
It seriously frightens me that so many of you think this is funny.
Yeoman2 1 year, 5 months ago
I am with you, cheese. It is disgusting to see these vicious attitudes displayed. Some folks just cannot get over their own sense of worthlessness long enough to try to help out. They must take a gun and shoot something.. Next time it may well be a neighbor mowing his lawn early or a kid riging through a yard on a bicycle. The world id full of idiots and nuts who think a gun makes their visibility more clear. It does.
Jane 1 year, 5 months ago
Laughing to keep from crying at the stupidity over a stray cat.
jackbinkelman 1 year, 5 months ago
Cruelty to animals often leads to cruelty to humans.. is that something to laugh about?
Jane 1 year, 5 months ago
I wasn't laughing that the cat was hurt, I was 'laughing' over the huge amounts of money that will be spent on prosecuting this man. That is just stupid. Give him a fine for trapping the cat and be done with it. Please explain how shooting a cat is any more cruel than shooting a deer, rabbit, etc. Please explain how eating animals that are factory farmed is any more cruel than shooting a cat. To follow your line of logic, all carnivores are likely candidates to be cruel to other humans. Really, I would like to hear your logic on this.
raerae 1 year, 5 months ago
Wow. Unbelievably inhumane comments here about the cat, shot by someone while it was caged and unable to escape.
Bet there'd be a bigger outcry if it were a dog in a backyard. Typical LJ comment idiots.
Centurion 1 year, 5 months ago
"relocated them to another area" Is that a nice way of saying that he dumped them off to be someone elses problem?
catfishturkeyhunter 1 year, 5 months ago
Thats one tough cat
jhawkinsf 1 year, 5 months ago
Boo.
jackbinkelman 1 year, 5 months ago
Trapping cats should say it all..
Pywacket 1 year, 5 months ago
Not necessarily. But shooting them or dropping them off "in other areas" does. I am an animal lover and have cats and dogs of my own but I fully sympathize with anyone who is fed up with loose animals (cat or dog, either one), crapping in their garden, peeing in their garage, scattering their trash, or any of the other nasty things we have experienced over the years. Too often, someone who will let his animals roam the neighborhood becomes hostile and threatening if neighbors ask that they keep them at home. We were burned several times by trying to be nice to these cretins.
Once you ask them politely to stop letting their animals roam, and they respond with threats and obscenities, as our former "neighbors" did, you're in the uncomfortable position where, if you call the authorities, the crazy neighbor knows you're probably the one who called. We used to worry that our own dogs would be poisoned when they were in our fenced yard or that the creeps would do something even worse.
I learned my lesson from that experience. We no longer live in a crowded little neighborhood and we haven't had any trouble from straying pets in a long time but if we did I would not hesitate to humanely live trap the animal and take it to the humane society. If the owners actually loved the creature, they would locate it there and pay its bail--and maybe think twice about letting it roam the neighborhood again.
People should not have to put up with neighbors' pets using their children's sandboxes as a litter box, spraying their property (we had neighbor cats that would routinely come into our garage and spray whenever they could get in), or doing other unacceptable things. The important thing to remember is that it is not the animal's fault--it is the owner's. So if action needs to be taken, the animal should be treated gently and humanely.
If pet owners think it so important for their animals to go outside regularly, they should leash train them. Yes--cats can be leash trained. I've done it and have never had a cat killed in traffic, tormented by kids, chased by dogs, suffering from worms or other vermin, or trapped & shot by a neighbor.
OldPoot 1 year, 5 months ago
I wonder how much it will cost taxpayers to prosecute this dangerous cat shooter ?
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