Animal abuse convicted

A Thermalito man is facing five years in state prison for shooting his neighbors’ pets.

On Dec. 5, a Butte County jury found Michael Scott, 29, guilty of two counts of animal abuse with a deadly weapon, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

Based on witness testimony and DNA evidence, last September, Scott (pictured) repeatedly shot his neighbor’s Jack Russell terrier, Roxy, with a high-powered pellet gun; the dog’s body was never found, but witnesses said he’d admitted to killing her and discarding her body.

Scott also shot another neighbor’s cat, Sophie Rose. The cat survived and an X-ray revealed a pellet similar to those seized at Scott’s home. Other neighbors testified that five of their cats had been shot that summer, and two of them died. He is set for sentencing on Dec. 29.