ZIONSVILLE, Ind. – The man accused of shooting and killing a pet tortoise in Zionsville in early September was charged with criminal mischief Tuesday.
The Boone County Sheriff’s Office and prosecutor’s office said the charge was for “recklessly, knowingly or intentionally destroying property without consent.”
A tortoise named Merlin, the pet of Tasha Chapel, escaped from a fenced area Aug. 31 before he was killed by neighbor Brandt Lawson who mistook the animal as a threat.
Deputies urged the community to contact law enforcement, the Humane Society of Boone County or Department of Natural Resources if they come into contact or observe an animal that they have questions about in order to prevent similar incidences.
The Boone County Sheriff released a statement on the charge:
“The Sheriff’s Office is committed to protecting lives of everyone, human or animal, domestic or non-domestic; if it is outside the confines of the state law. This is an unfortunate circumstance with Merlin, because he is not considered a domestic animal by state law. When we found out what occurred we immediately began an investigation with our Animal Control Liaison. Deputy Fisher, our Animal Control Liaison, reached out to many other agencies to see what could be done about this incident. This is just another example of why we have been working so hard for the last year on getting the proper county animal control ordinance in place as well as the funding for a full time Animal Control Officer.”
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