A Butte County jury found Michael Scott, 29, guilty of two counts of animal abuse with the use of a deadly weapon stemming from the killing of the dog and shooting of a cat in his Thermalito neighborhood, according to a press release issued Tuesday.
Scott allegedly chased the dog named Roxy around his backyard, cornered her, and began to shoot her multiple times.
 |
| Roxy was tortured to death by Michael Scott |
The dog was able to escape to her owner’s home, where Scott allegedly cornered her again, placed her in a blue bin and threw her over a fence back onto his property.
The dog was ultimately killed in Scott’s garage, where he allegedly continued to shoot her to death.
The dog’s body was never found, but prosecutors said testimony suggested Scott — upset with his neighbors — admitted to throwing the dog’s body in a lake or river.
During the same period, Scott allegedly admitted to his brother that he also shot a separate neighbor’s cat.
The cat named Sophie Rose belonged to his neighbor across the street from Scott and it survived being shot with a pellet gun.
Additionally, other neighbors also testified that they had five cats shot during the summer of 2015, prosecutors said. Two cats died.
The cat shootings “promptly stopped” after Scott was arrested and his weapon was seized, according to prosecutors.
The jury deliberated for about an hour following four days of testimony.
Judge Michael Deems remanded Scott into custody without bail as he awaits sentencing Dec. 29.
Scott faces up to five years in state prison.
(Oroville - December 6, 2016)
