MARION, SC (WBTW) – On Friday County Administrator Tim Harper fired a county employee after 14 cats they took from an animal shelter were found dead.

According to Harper, Marion County Code Enforcement Officer Marion Richardson removed 14 cats from the Marion County Animal Shelter on Wednesday. Richardson told the staff at the shelter that he was “taking the cats to a farmer” but the release from Harper says the animals were later found dead.

SC Law Enforcement Division is investigating the incident at the request of the Marion County Sheriff’s Office and the Solicitor’s Office, Thom Berry confirms.

Richardson was a former employee of the Sheriff’s Department before becoming a code enforcement officer in the Building Inspections Office.