Man Sentenced Over Cat Rescue Shooting
A man who shot at firefighters after they refused to get his cat out of a tree has been sentenced to five months in jail. Jeffrey Francis Cullen, 59, of Kingman, was also ordered to be on intensive probation for five years as part of his sentence, handed down Friday by Mohave County Superior Court Judge Robert R. Moon.
The relatively light sentence did not sit well with the prosecutor.
“The state’s position is that if it’s the first time or the 20th time, prison is appropriate,” prosecutor Lee Jantzen said.
Cullen called the Hualapai Valley Fire Department on Aug. 17 and reported a tree fire, but once the three-person crew arrived, Cullen told them he wanted his cat rescued from the tree.
Fire Department spokeswoman Sandy Edwards said a battalion chief told Cullen to call animal control or to wait for the cat to get hungry and come down.
The response apparently incensed Cullen, who went inside his home, got a small handgun and came out shooting.