Dustin McCormack, North Carolina landlord breaks into tenant’s residence and kills their pet cat. Harmony Chizem and her boyfriend, Preston Finley left frazzled and outraged as they now demand justice.
A North Carolina landlord has been charged with animal cruelty for allegedly breaking into a tenant’s residence and kicking and fatally shooting their pet cat.
Dustin McCormack who rents out several homes in the Burke County area is alleged to have broke into one of his tenant’s abode south of Morganton on July 10 according to a news release from the Burke County Sheriff’s Office.
Identified as the cat owners were Harmony Chizem and her boyfriend, Preston Finley who expressed shock and disbelief following the death of their pet cat.
‘I only wanted to frighten the cat…’
The alleged animal abuse follows the landlord stating he never permitted his renters to have a cat.
Images of the landlord shooting the tenants’ cat was captured on surveillance video as McCormack broke into his tenant’s residence while they were at the beach.
‘Just crying,’ Chezem told WSOC-TV. ‘I kind of get like I was having a panic attack with what had gone on because it was so cruel.’
‘I feel like he should be charged for everything that he’s done,’ Finley said.
Deputies reviewed video footage and charged McCormack with breaking and entering and felony cruelty to animals.
McCormack has since claimed he was ‘only trying to frighten the cat’ by firing his gun and ‘was not trying to kill it.’
‘I had to get the cat out of the house and when I got it off the porch, it wouldn’t run, so I scared it so it would go away,’ McCormack said.
McCormack, who owns a construction company and several rental homes, was renting a room to the couple and said he never permitted them to have a cat.
‘It was locked in the house for probably two days unsupervised,’ McCormack said. ‘It just peed all over everything. I go to my houses for random checks all the time. They were using a room. The house wasn’t theirs.’
McCormack is also accused of breaking into the home. However, he said he went there to get items belonging to him.
The couple said they had a friend watching Frank while they were at the beach.
Chizem writing about the episode, posted on her Facebook page, (since deleted) describing McCormick ‘as a monster’ who ‘shouldn’t be trusted with anything.’ She wrote that she and Finley had been renting the property for about a year prior to the incident.
They said McCormack never told them they couldn’t have a cat and are hoping for justice in the case.
McCormack was processed at the Burke County Jail and released after posting bond of $20,000, authorities said. He is currently scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 9.
In addition to the charges in connection to the cat incident, McCormack also has multiple cases pending in Burke and Iredell Counties, including two counts of violating a domestic violence protective order, cyberstalking, assault on a female, speeding, and resisting a public officer, reckless driving to endanger, and having an expired registration card or tag, lawandcrime reported.
