For only the second time in its recent memory the Bucks County SPCA has paid out a reward for a tip that led to the arrest and conviction of a Fairless Hills man who killed one cat and seriously injured another in 2023.
The animal welfare agency announced it awarded $2,500 to an unidentified resident following the conviction last month of Shawaun Lakins.
Lakins, 46, is serving four years supervised probation after pleading guilty in Bucks County Court to one felony count of aggravated cruelty to animals resulting in injury or death. He also was ordered to pay more than $6,000 in restitution to the cat owners for medical expenses.
This photo was taken of Jackie, a black cat who was shot and injured in Falls on Nov. 15. Her eye was removed and a projectile remains lodged near her brain.
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The SPCA offered the reward for information as part of its investigation into the shooting of two cats at the Aspen Falls Apartments off Trenton Road in November 2023.
The spayed housecats, who wore collars and bells, belonged to roommates who live in Aspen Falls. The owners reportedly let the cats outside for an hour daily, but on the day of the shooting they never returned.
One cat named “Tootsie” was found dead in the parking lot. The other cat “Jackie” required emergency surgery to remove her left eye, which cost $6,500, the owner said. Surgeons were unable to remove the pellet in her skull.
Jackie recovered from her injuries and her owner reported recently that she is alive and well, SPCA spokeswoman Cindy Kelly said.
A week after the shooting, the SPCA received video footage reportedly showing the suspect, later identified as Lakins, leaving a nearby home the morning of the shooting, according to court documents.
The video captured the sound of a whistle and two popping sounds just as what appears to be a black cat identified as “Jackie” runs between a church and an SUV parked beside the apartment complex driveway.
Moments later, a white cat, later identified as “Tootsie” is seen running.
For only the second time in recent memory, the Bucks County SPCA has given a reward to an individual who provided information leading to an arrest and conviction in an animal cruelty case.
Authorities executed search warrants at Lakins’ home where they confiscated an air rifle and a tin of hollow point small caliber pellets which matched the pellets found in X-rays of the cats, court documents said.
The SPCA previously paid a $1,000 reward in 2003 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of two men who stabbed 10 cats in 2002, Kelly said.
BCSPCA’s Executive Director Linda Reider expressed gratitude toward the public, and the concerned tipster, who heard about the incident and provided the video leading to Lakins’ conviction.
“Sadly, BCSPCA is called upon to investigate shootings of owned animals in Bucks County each year. We are so thankful to the community who shared the reward post and news stories on social media,” Reider said. “This case should send a message to anyone who considers shooting or otherwise harming animals in Bucks County.”
Reporter Jo Ciavaglia can be reached at [email protected]
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Bucks County SPCA rewards tipster who helped convict cat killer
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