Second man charged in shotgun death of airborne cat in Harris County

Alexander Marsh, 18, of League City, is charged with animal cruelty in the shooting death of a cat. Alexander Marsh, 18, of League City, is charged with animal cruelty in the shooting death of a cat. Photo: Harris County Sheriff Photo: Harris County Sheriff Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Second man charged in shotgun death of airborne cat in Harris County 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

A second man accused of tossing a cat into the air and shooting it with a shotgun has been charged with felony animal cruelty in East Harris County.

An arrest warrant was issued Jan. 19 for Alexander Marsh, 18, of League City, but he was not in custody Tuesday afternoon, according to online law enforcement records.

Joseph D. Morgan, 24, of Highlands, was arrested Jan. 19 on a charge of animal cruelty and torture with a firearm in the incident along the San Jacinto River. He was released the next day on $15,000 bond, records state.

On Jan. 18, a Highlands woman told Harris County sheriff's deputies that she had seen two men tossing a cat into the air and shooting it with a shotgun, according to the two men's arrest warrants. The woman told investigators she recognized one of the men as a neighbor.

Deputies met with Morgan, who told them Marsh was the one who threw the cat into the air while he was the one who shot it, according to court documents.

Morgan said he and Marsh shot the cat because its eye was previously injured and they couldn't afford to take it to a veterinarian, records state. According to a news release from the Harris County Sheriff's Office, Morgan said he used a shotgun loaded with bird shot.

Morgan told investigators the cat didn't die immediately but was "flopping around" in apparent pain after it was shot and landed on some broken concrete and bricks about 20 feet below the two men's location.

An investigator found the dead cat and called the Houston SPCA, which came and removed the body for autopsy and disposal, the news release said.