Bastrop, Texas pastor charged with animal cruelty over death of neighbor's cat

[Ian David]

Posted on January 23, 2012 at 9:19 PM

Updated Tuesday, Jan 24 at 8:10 AM

BASTROP, Texas -- A Central Texas pastor is being accused of throwing a neighbor's cat off of a bridge.

Rick Bartlett, pastor of the Bastrop Christian Church, is facing animal cruelty charges. Bastrop Police Chief Michael Black said Bartlett admitted that he caught the cat, named Moody, in a trap on Sunday, Jan. 15. Bartlett told them that he was having a problem with feral cats in his garden.

Moody also told police that he had the cat in a cage in the back of his pick-up truck for three days and forgot about him until Tuesday, Jan. 17., when Bartlett brought the cat to police. An animal control officer noticed a name tag including the phone number of Moody’s owners, Sarah and Eddy Bell, on the cat's collar. The officer offered to take Moody back to his owners but police said Bartlett told them he’d take the cat back himself since they were his neighbors.

Later on the same day, a park visitor discovered Moody’s near lifeless body on the bank of the Colorado River, some 40-50 feet below a bridge.



More:
http://www.kvue.com/news/Bastrop-Pastor-charged-with-Cruelty-to-Animals-over-Neighbors-cat-death-137934273.html