PARSIPPANY – A Parsippany man has been charged after he allegedly beat a goose to death with a golf club near the 18th hole of a local golf course.
According to Detective Paul Williams of the Morris County Park Police, at approximately 1:45 p.m. on Monday, May 16, Morris County Park Officer Casey Petrocy and Conservation Officer Robert Driscoll of the New Jersey Division of Fish & Wildlife were dispatched to the Sunset Valley Golf Course in Pompton Plains on a report that a Canada goose had been killed there the prior day.
“Witnesses had reported to golf course personnel that a golfer had struck the goose with his golf club until it was dead near the 18th hole,” said Williams. “Officers observed and removed the dead goose from a pond.”
After a joint investigation by the park police and the division, William L. Mitchell, 54, was charged on May 17 with killing waterfowl.
“Incidents like these, thankfully, are rare, but when they do occur, we take them seriously and respond accordingly,” said Williams.
Editors Note: A criminal complaint is merely an accusation. Despite this accusation, the defendant is presumed innocent until he or she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
