Virginia Cat Owner Convicted In Vigilante Dog Killing

CHRISTIANSBURG, VA — A Virginia man was convicted Tuesday in the vigilante killing of two Labrador retriever dogs he said chased and killed his cat, Jeffrey, last November. Stephen Nichols Cook, 68, plans an appeal of the misdemeanor charges, according to media reports.

Cook and the dogs’ owner, neighbor Arthur Hamrick, had been embroiled in a feud that included drawn guns over the dogs, Yancey and Maggie May. Cook’s attorney, Richard Davis, said his client was grieving when he killed the dogs, and has expressed remorse.

However, prosecutor Dean Manor said Cook didn’t have to kill the dogs. He could have taken a less extreme, nonviolent approach, but instead chose “vigilante justice.”

The Montgomery County General Court conviction for killing the dogs came after several witnesses described the feud between the two neighbors, the Roanoke Times reported. Judge Randal Duncan found Cook guilty of brandishing a firearm and recklessly handling a firearm, and fined $2,500 on each count. He must also serve six months in jail.

Additionally, the judge asked a grand jury to decide if there’s enough evidence to prosecute Cook on felony charges of recklessly shooting at vehicle and two counts of cruelty to animals.

The dogs had chased one of Cook’s cats in 2012, and Hamrick paid the veterinary bills to patch up the feline.

The issue between the two neighbors came to a head the night of Nov. 6, 2017, when Cook’s wife, Deborah, saw the dogs outside her home and Jeffrey was in the mouth of one of the dogs.

Her husband left the house, very upset, with his dead cat and a pistol. Cook confronted Hamrick in a road near their homes and Cook shot the dogs, which were in the back of Hamrick’s pickup. Maggie May died instantly, and Yancey died before Hamrick could get to the veterinarian’s office.

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