TEXAS -- A juvenile was charged with two counts of cruelty to animals after a criminal trespass investigation near Blum on Tuesday, January 1.
The suspicious deaths of six horses, a donkey and a cow on or near the property had been reported in recent months. Most recently on December 17, a horse was found shot to death.
Hill County sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the location, in the 100 block of Bermuda Street in the Creekwood Estates subdivision, at around 11 a.m. on New Year’s Day to investigate a report of a man with a gun.
According to reports, a .22 caliber rifle was later found in brush where a man with a gun had been spotted.
An investigation led authorities to a nearby residence, where a 43-year-old Blum man was detained on a misdemeanor charge of criminal trespass with a deadly weapon.
A 12-year-old boy at the residence where the man was detained was questioned, leading to two counts of cruelty to animals being filed in connection with the animal deaths.
Juvenile probation authorities were contacted, and the youth was released to his mother following processing on the charges.
Deputies also discovered the skulls and antlers of nine deer while at the home, and Game Warden Mark Hammonds was called in to investigate a possible poaching case against the adult.
Assisting on the arrests were deputies Wes Collins, Shane Brassell, Clint Ward and Kyle Cox.
(Lakelander - Jan 9, 2013)
