PREVIOUS REPORT: High bond set for man accused of setting cat on fire
Middletown police and Butler County Deputy Dog Warden Jamie Hearlihy were dispatched Sept. 18 to Howard Avenue near Arlington Avenue, where the fire department had put out the cat that was ablaze.
A police officer shot the cat to put it out of its misery, according to a police report.
Samples taken from the cat and the blanket used to smother the fire indicated that lighter fluid was used, according to court records.
Police said Sullivan initially lied to them about his involvement, but an investigation by Middletown police and the dog warden’s office led back to him as a suspect.
Sullivan was indicted by a Butler County grand jury in January on the fifth-degree felony. His case is one of three felony animal cruelty cases pending in the county.
A Middletown woman was charged with felony animal cruelty last month after several dead animals were found in her backyard.
The county dog warden’s office received information last week advising that there were dead dogs in the yard at the residence in the 13oo block of Oxford State Road.
Four dogs were observed by the humane officers when they arrived on Feb. 16. Two of the dogs were found in dog houses and another one was found in a black plastic tote along with a decapitated dog’s head, according to the sheriff’s office. The owner, Tina Marie Jackson, said she ran out of dog food and she never provided bedding in the dog houses to keep the dogs warm. She did not offer an explanation for the decapitated dog.
The charge of cruelty to a companion animal had been a first-degree misdemeanor for years, with a maximum sentence of 180 days. Now classified as a felony, the charge carries a sentence of up to 12 months in prison in some cases. The law changed in September 2016.
Jackson’s case was bound over to a Butler County grand jury for consideration last week.
In January, Melissa Damico, 46, of St. Clair Twp. was arrested on multiple charges after allegedly neglecting dogs in the bitter cold weather.
Earlier this month, Damico was indicted by a Butler County grand jury on three felony and four misdemeanor charges after allegedly neglecting dogs in the cold January weather.
Damico was arrested Jan. 7 after a welfare check was conducted at 3700 Morganthaler Road in St. Clair Twp. by county humane officers, who found three dogs deceased due to neglect and cold weather, while four other dogs were found alive but severely malnourished. She is scheduled to be arraigned next week on the indicted charges. She is also free on bond.
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