MIDDLEBURY — Three Jayco employees are charged with animal cruelty after they allegedly placed live cats in a trash compactor.
Travis McKay, John Lipscomb and Arlin Hochstetler are each charged with two counts of torturing an animal, a Level 6 felony, in court documents filed Monday. They were charged after the Middlebury Police Department investigated allegations that they placed two live cats into a trash compactor on Feb. 27.
According to court documents:
A Middlebury patrolman responded to the RV factory after the incident was reported and spoke with Lipscomb. He allegedly told police there were a number of stray cats that they were having trouble removing from the property.
Lipscomb allegedly said one cat got its claw stuck in a cage so he cut its toe off, then he placed two cats into cardboard boxes, taped them shut and placed them into the trash compactor.
McKay allegedly told the officer that the animal shelters were full and he thought he could “take care” of the situation. McCkay claimed that he and Hochstetler placed the cats into the compactor, and that he placed two trash hoppers on top so the travel time of the ram would be shorter, according to police.
He said he wanted to reduce the amount of time the animals would suffer, according to police.
Hochstetler also told the officer they didn’t want the animals to suffer, but that they also wanted to eliminate the nuisance of the cats without the possibility of them coming back, police say.
Police also allege that a Jayco vice president indicated to them that he believed the men acted in the company’s best interest by putting the live cats into the trash compactor.
A Jayco spokesperson said the company has fired the three men.
“We take this matter very seriously, and do not condone the actions of the three individuals involved or animal cruelty of any manner,” the company said in a statement released Thursday. “Their employment with the company has been terminated. Immediate measures were taken and continue to be executed to educate employees on appropriate procedures and company expectations.”