Oregon: Cat shot with arrow because it 'knocked over' some garbage cans. Seriously...

OREGON -- A rural Phoenix man faces a felony animal-abuse charge for allegedly shooting and wounding a neighbor's cat with an arrow because he said the cat was a nuisance that knocked over his garbage cans, authorities said.

Cody Edward Daigneault, 25, was arraigned Monday in Jackson County Circuit Court on a single charge of first-degree animal abuse.

Daigneault was arrested shortly after 8 p.m. Friday at the Red Barn Auction house in the 5400 block of South Pacific Highway, where police found several people caring for the injured cat, according to a court affidavit filed by the Jackson County Sheriff's Department.

Daigneault

Several people fingered Daigneault as the shooter of an arrow that went completely through the cat's abdomen, although no one saw him do it, according to the affidavit.

But Daigneault already was wanted on a probation violation detainer stemming from a past conviction of felony fourth-degree assault, so he was taken into custody at the scene, the affidavit said.

When questioned by an officer, Daigneault originally denied shooting the cat but he later confessed, according to the affidavit.

Daigneault told sheriff's deputies he shot the cat because it was a "nuisance" around the property, knocking down garbage cans and getting into altercations with his cats, the affidavit states.

The cat was taken to an unidentified pet hospital, where it was treated and expected to survive, according to the sheriff's department. No further information was available from the sheriff's department Monday.

During Daigneault's arraignment, Jackson County Circuit Judge Lorenzo Mejia set Daigneault's bail at $5,000 on the new charge and ordered that he have no animals under his care or control while the case was being adjudicated.

Daigneault was returned to the Jackson County Jail, where he remained in custody without bail on the probation violation detainer.

Daigneault's criminal history in Jackson County includes convictions for drug and felony assault dating back to 2008.

(Mail Tribune - Dec. 15, 2014)


Related (with photo from above):
"Felons say they're unfairly locked out of job market"
Cody Daigneault, 25, who landed a felony conviction after selling marijuana in Jackson County in 2008, said he would like to see Oregon pass a law requiring employers to put off the criminal-history question until further along in the interview process.

"(Employers) just discriminate against your past, rather than look at what sort of asset you can be," Daigneault said. "I don't think there are a lot of people that are really willing to give people a chance."