Saturday, February 27, 2016

New York: Eric Napoli found GUILTY of aggravated animal cruelty for shooting roommate's Husky to death

NEW YORK -- An Ulster County jury found a Pine Bush guilty Thursday of tying his roommate's husky to a tree and shooting it to death with a shotgun filled with birdshot, the Ulster County District Attorney's Office says.

Eric Napoli, 44, was charged with aggravated animal cruelty, a felony, on April 19, 2015, by Shawangunk police after they say he shot and killed the six-year-old rescue dog, Luna, on April 16, prosecutors say.


Luna's owner, a Pine Bush school teacher, testified that Napoli texted and called her on April 16 that if she didn't bring Luna to the pound he was going kill the dog, prosecutors say. She sped home and found Luna unharmed and tied to a tree.

When the owner went inside to pack things to leave she said she heard gunshots and Luna yelp.
Napoli, taking the stand, said he came home that day and found Luna standing over his dead cat and thought Luna killed it, prosecutors say.

But under cross-examination Napoli said he didn't see Luna kill his cat or ever act aggressively toward it, prosecutors say. He also said his own pit bull lived at the house. Napoli said that after giving Luna's owner the choice of the pound or death, the owner chose death, a point the owner denied.

Prosecutors say Napoli has a history alcohol-related criminal offenses that the jury wasn't allowed to hear about. He's due for sentencing by Judge Donald Williams on April 22 and faces up to two years in jail.

(Record Online - Feb 26, 2016)

Earlier:

No comments:

Post a Comment