The Benton Police Department arrested a suspect on Saturday, June 24, 2023 in related to an animal cruelty case that occurred in Benton in late May.
John Hunter Shoptaw, 28, of Little Rock, was taken into custody and charged with Aggravated Cruelty to a Cat, which is a Class D Felony. He was also charged with Unauthorized Use of Another Person’s Property to Facilitate Certain Crimes (Class B Felony), and a variety of misdemeanor charges related to previous incidents.
A Benton business owner discovered surveillance video of what appeared to be Shoptaw, throwing and kicking a deceased cat and further handling the cat in an inappropiate manner. This incident was reported on May 25th. Investigators were able to positively identify Shoptaw, and an arrest warrant was active as of June 1st.
Should anyone have further information to contribute to this incident, please call 501-776-5947. Anonymous messages may also be sent via text to 847411 with the keyword BENTONPD in the body of the message or via the BNPD app. Visit www.bentonpolice.org for general department information.
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