Felony charge reinstated for Ypsilanti Township man who shot neighbor's cat

An Ypsilanti Township man whose felony animal torture case was dismissed last year was charged again with shooting his neighbor's cat.

The Michigan Court of Appeals ruled there was enough evidence to substantiate the charge, which was dismissed by a now-retired Washtenaw County district court judge last December.

Daniel Boa, 37, stood mute when he was re-arraigned Wednesday on one count of killing/torturing an animal in Washtenaw County District Court, records show.

Authorities first charged him with that felony and several misdemeanor counts last year after Janie Sawyer told police her cat, Ben, was shot by a neighbor in their Ford Lake Heights neighborhood off Huron River Drive in October 2008.

A witness told a Washtenaw County Sheriff’s deputy Boa shot the cat from at least 3 feet away in the middle of the day and retrieved it with a plastic garbage bag.

But retired District Judge John B. Collins threw out the felony charge, saying prosecutors failed to show Boa had any malice - an element of the crime under state statute.

Collins made his ruling after hearing testimony from several witnesses during a preliminary hearing that stretched over three weeks last December.

Circuit Judge Donald Shelton upheld the ruling, but prosecutors appealed. They argued the fact the cat was in another person’s yard and was shot with a rifle at a distance showed malice and intent.

The appellate judges agreed in a brief decision issued late last month, officials said.

Mike Vincent, Boa’s attorney, said they're disappointed by the appellate court’s ruling. He also maintained his client’s innocence.

“We’re back to square one and are going to trial,” Vincent said.

Boa, Sawyer, and their families were friends before the incident. Vincent said he still lives there and is remorseful.

“He’s distraught by the fact that this was a neighbor’s cat," he said. "He thought this was a feral cat that was killing birds and squirrels in the neighborhood.”

Boa remains free on a personal recognizance bond and is scheduled to appear in circuit court for a pretrial hearing on Jan. 4, records state.

The misdemeanor charges, including weapons violations, were pending while the case was on appeal. If convicted of animal cruelty, Boa faces up to four years in prison, a $5,000 fine and up to 500 hours of community service.

Art Aisner is a freelance writer for AnnArbor.com. Reach the news desk at news@annarbor.com or 734-623-2530.