SOUTH CAROLINA – A 17-year-old now faces a felony animal cruelty charge after allegedly hanging his ex-girlfriend’s pet cat.
An arrest warrant accuses Tyrik Jacquez Gaffney of 272 Fairey St. of tying a wire around a cat’s neck and hanged the cat from a clothesline until the cat died.
The incident happened at about 9 p.m. June 12, according to the warrant.
Orangeburg Department of Public Safety officers did arrest Gaffney on Saturday afternoon.
Gaffney appeared in bond court on Sunday where Judge Jacob Gillens set his bond at $4,000 cash or surety.
An incident report states that a woman called police at 10 p.m. on June 12 to report that she and her daughter discovered the cat dangling from the clothesline in their backyard.
The woman went on to explain to officers that she’d given Gaffney a place to stay, but that she’d recently put him out of her house because he was causing confusion in her household and fighting her daughter.
The woman also told officers she believed Gaffney killed her daughter’s cat because she kicked him out of the house.
Just prior to discovering the cat hanging from the clothesline, the woman’s daughter received a call from Gaffney, where he allegedly stated, “I left a present for you in the backyard. Your family is in danger. I’ll see you tomorrow!”
The officer mentioned in the incident report that the mother and daughter led law enforcement to the backyard where, “there was a black and white kitten with a tight noose around its neck hanging from the clothesline.”
If Gaffney is convicted, in the end, he faces 180 days to five years in prison and a fine of $5,000.
