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The cat was found shot outside of 544 State State in Millersburg on Jan. 28 around 12:17 p.m., according to an earlier release by Pennsylvania state police the following Monday.
Alex Martin Yates, 31, of Elizabethville, is now believed to have shot the animal "with a .177 caliber air rifle multiple times with the intent to harm the animal," according to the updated release.
Originally Troopers called to the scene believed the animal was not the intended target but a bystander in a drive-by shooting.
The cat was taken to the Dauphin County Animal Hospital. The status and condition of the cat were not shared in either update.
Yates was arrested on Feb. 7 and charged with felon aggravated cruelty to animals, cruelty to animals, and neglect of animals, the police release states and court records confirm.
State police said he was being held in the Dauphin County Prison after failing to post $10,000 in bail, although his court docket shows he was released of his own recognizance and was never booked into the prison, therefore no mugshot was released.
His preliminary hearing has been set before Magesterial District Judge Rebecca Jo Margerum on March 13, 2023, at 11:30 a.m., according to his court docket.
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