A Crookston teen accused of shooting a cat with a bow and arrow pleaded guilty today to a charge of animal cruelty.
Blake Erickson, 17, is set to be sentenced Dec. 14.
On Sept. 18, the Crookston Police Department responded to a report that a cat had been shot with an arrow and was still alive on the 200 block of Houston Avenue.
Officers found a group of distraught people around the cat, which was lying in a pool of blood, missing its lower jaw and making loud noises, according to a criminal complaint.
The complaint says a woman at the scene told police Erickson was responsible, so an officer spoke with Erickson who admitted to shooting the cat twice with his bow and arrow. Erickson told the officer he was in his friend's yard, and that he and his friend were tired of cats urinating in the yard, the complaint states.
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The cat walked a ways with an arrow in it before it fell over and the group gathered around it. Police ultimately had to end the cat's life; it was a 6-month-old house pet that belonged to a woman in the neighborhood.
The complaint says Erickson told police he knew that it is illegal to shoot a bow and arrow in Crookston. He also acknowledged "it was stupid to shoot the cat," according to the complaint.
Erickson's case is being handled in juvenile court where cases are often confidential. But because Erickson is older than 16 and because of the seriousness of the offense, his case is public.
