RANDOLPH -- A 67-year-old Randolph man accused of

shooting and killing his pet parrot

because it allegedly annoyed him while he was drunk and watching a NASCAR race on television was indicted today on a charge of animal cruelty.

Dennis Zeglin was charged with killing his 20-year-old pet African gray parrot, Mikey, on June 7 at 4:30 p.m., by shooting the bird three times with a BB gun, court documents stated.

An indictment handed up by a grand jury in Morristown accuses Zeglin of one count of third-degree animal cruelty, a crime punishable by three-to-five years in prison and up to a $15,000 fine.

At the time of the incident, Zeglin’s wife, who was upstairs, came down to find Zeglin still sitting in his chair and the bird dead in its cage, court documents stated. Zeglin cooperated with police and voluntarily turned over his Daisy Powerline Model 93 CO2-cartridge BB gun so it could be destroyed.

After the shooting, Zeglin was treated for alcoholism, his attorney said.