Napoli
KINGSTON – A Pine Bush man was indicted by an Ulster County grand jury in connection with the killing of his roommate’s dog on April 16.
Eric Napoli, 43, was charged with aggravated cruelty to animals as a
felony for shooting the five-year-old Husky with a shotgun after he tied
it to a tree. After killing the animal, he buried it in his yard.
This is the second case to come to light in just a matter of days. Last week, in an unrelated incident, Linda Derosa, 62, of Claverack was charged with aggravated animal cruelty for shooting her neighbor’s dog to death.
Why an increase in animal abuse? Ulster County District Attorney Holley Carnright could not put his finger on a reason.
“We have that same type of question when we talk about domestic violence and the number of domestic violence that for years have been growing and growing. Part of that people would say, is it because there is more awareness is that law enforcement is working so hard to quell that type of conduct,” Carnright said.
Some experts say animal abuse can often lead to domestic abuse.
