Kerr pleads not guilty to shooting cat

A Town of Oak Grove man pleaded not guilty Monday to a felony charge of shooting and killing a neighbor’s cat.

Pierce County Judge Joseph Boles accepted the plea, found probable cause and bound Gregory F. Kerr, 53, N6053 CTH E, River Falls, over for trial.

Kerr remains free on a $5,000 signature bond. A pretrial hearing is set for 3:30 p.m. Jan. 13, 2012.

The felony charge of mistreatment of an animal/causing death carries a maximum penalty of 3 ½ years in prison and a fine of $10,000.

Kerr is accused of fatally shooting “Tuffy,” a cat belonging to Rhonda Klink. On May 11, Klink reported to police that she had found the cat dead on her property the previous day.

According to the complaint, Klink said she took the cat’s body to her veterinarian, who determined the animal died as a result of being hit with about 30 pellets of bird shot.

Klink told the investigating officer that Kerr had earlier told her he didn’t like cats or other animals around his property.

When a deputy first talked to Kerr, he said there had been a cat under his bird feeder at about dark a few days earlier and he shot a .410 shotgun over, but not at, the cat to scare it away.

Kerr told the officer there had been animals and feral cats on the property, and he believed they had been killing the birds and pheasants.

Later, Kerr told a second deputy he had had nothing to do with Klink’s cat and thought the animal he fired over was a raccoon.

Kerr served one term on the Pierce County Board from 2004 to 2006. During that time, he was a member of the county’s Law Enforcement Committee.

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