Wednesday afternoon, Longmont police went to Paul Vickers' home after family members alerted them to a disturbing e-mail Vickers allegedly wrote.
"He sent out an email to family members expressing frustration over past marital issues he and his wife had," said Sgt. Garrett Boden.
"In the same email, Vickers described killing the cat with a .22-caliber pistol, so that his wife could feel his marital pain."
The e-mail also threatened the remaining three cats, Boden said.
Vickers wasn't home Wednesday afternoon, but police did find him there Wednesday night, when they made the discovery that a personal vendetta may not have been all Vickers had been cultivating.
"Officers said that they smelled a strong odor of marijuana when they entered Vickers' home, which led them to apply a search warrant of the home," Boden said.
In the home, officers found an elaborate grow operation, which included a total of 19 marijuana plants. Of those 19, eight were adults, and 11 were juveniles.
Detectives were also able to seize numerous bags of harvested and processed marijuana.
As for the cat, a black and white mix, its body was found in a retention pond south of Vickers' home.
"The cat was truly the victim here," Boden said. "Not to say that we weren't concerned Vickers posed a potential threat to his wife, but it was all about revenge. He knew his wife was partial to cats."
Police arrested Vickers, 50, on suspicion of domestic violence, cruelty to animals, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, cultivation of marijuana and possession of more than 450 grams of marijuana.
(Denver Post - March 28, 2008)
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