A Kentucky man was hit with multiple charges in connection with a strange case of unleashing a raccoon in a business during which the animal bit a person, according to police. Previously, the man was arrested for allegedly attempting to flee from police on a mule.
The Murray Police Department said it received a complaint about a man intentionally releasing a raccoon inside a business at 9:18 p.m. on June 6. The individual — 40-year-old Jonathan Mason of Murray — purposely turned loose the wild animal and then fled from the business, police said.
‘Upon officer arrival, Mason was outside the business and was manifestly under the influence of alcohol.’
Police in a statement said that the raccoon bit a person inside the business. Police also noted that Mason previously had been ordered to stay off the property of the business.
Murray police officers were able to track down Mason while he was driving his vehicle.
Police stated that they conducted a traffic stop, but Mason “refused to roll down his windows or exit the vehicle.” Officers were forced to physically remove him from the vehicle after he resisted, police said.
Mason was arrested and charged with second-degree assault, third-degree trespassing, resisting arrest, and failure to maintain required insurance, according to jail records.
Mason as of Friday morning was still behind bars in the Calloway County Jail.
Mason is no stranger to the Murray Police Department. He was arrested six months ago for another bizarre story involving an animal.
Just after 9 p.m. Dec. 7, 2024, officers responded to a “local alcohol establishment” in regard to an “unruly individual.”
The Murray Police Department said in a statement, “Upon officer arrival, Mason was outside the business and was manifestly under the influence of alcohol.”
“Mason had ridden a mule to the establishment, and he refused to stop when ordered to by the officer,” police added. “As the officer attempted to place Mason under arrest, Mason resisted.”
According to police, witnesses informed investigators that Mason mistreated the mule, including whipping the mule an “unnecessary amount” of times at a different establishment.
Mason was arrested and booked in the Calloway County Jail on second-degree disorderly conduct, third-degree criminal trespassing, alcohol intoxication in a public place, and second-degree cruelty to animals.
Just two days later — Dec. 9, 2024 — police said officers were dispatched to the area where this mule had been stabled regarding a seemingly intoxicated male who was “riding a mule down the roadway. An officer located Mason on his mule, but Mason refused to stop for the officer, and he fled on the mule on the roadway. Shortly after fleeing, Mason was arrested and lodged in the Calloway County Jail.” Police said he was charged with third-degree fleeing or evading police and second-degree cruelty to animals.
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