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Former Jayco RV employees in Middlebury, Indiana, are facing serious charges after allegedly admitting to putting two live cats into a trash compactor. The charges were filed earlier this week, following an incident that reportedly took place on February 27.
Key Highlights
- Three former Jayco RV employees are facing felony animal cruelty charges
- Incident involved placing two live cats into a trash compactor
- Jayco says the employees have been terminated and does not condone animal cruelty
- A quote attributed to Jayco’s VP of Operations is being disputed by the company
- Prosecutors are reviewing the statement mentioned in the charging affidavit
The Elkhart County Prosecutor’s Office has charged John Lipscomb (44), Travis McKay (29), and Arlin Hochstetler (31) with two felony counts each for torturing or mutilating a vertebrate animal.
Court records show that Lipscomb told police they had been dealing with several stray cats around the facility and had trouble getting rid of them. According to the affidavit, he said he placed two live cats inside a microwave box, sealed it, and that McKay and Hochstetler then placed the box into the trash compactor.
McKay told investigators that animal shelters were full, and he believed this would “take care” of the problem. Hochstetler reportedly said that he and Lipscomb didn’t want the cats to suffer, but also wanted to remove what they saw as a nuisance.
Jayco released a statement confirming that the three individuals are no longer with the company. The company said it does not tolerate animal cruelty and took immediate action to address the situation. Jayco added that steps have been taken to reinforce proper procedures and expectations with all employees.
Another point of concern emerged from the affidavit. It references a statement from Jayco’s Vice President of Operations, Devon Miller, suggesting he believed the men acted in the company’s best interest. This claim raised questions and led to public confusion.
Jayco responded, saying Miller was misquoted in the affidavit and strongly denied making that statement. The company said it is working with authorities to clarify what was actually said during his interview in February. Jayco has asked the Middlebury Police Department for the original materials related to the interview and said it stands by Miller and his denial.
Prosecutors told WNDU that they are looking into the statement attributed to Miller and expect to receive further information from investigators soon.
acting like they were doing the right thing… unbelievable!
😠 WTF
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