Arlington Police, Animal Services Team Up to Save Cat Shot by Arrow, Take Suspect into Custody

By Christopher Cook

Posted on August 24, 2020, August 24, 2020

On July 31, 2020, the City of Arlington responded to a neighbor who found a severely wounded cat in the 3200 block of W. Division Street.

An employee assigned to Animal Services quickly obtained medical treatment for the wounded cat who underwent emergency surgery.

A suspect had intentionally shot the cat with an arrow and left the animal wounded. A few days later, Animal Cruelty Investigator Brandi Alcantar went to the call location and spoke with residents in the area to develop a timeline on what happened and who was responsible for this crime.

A thorough and detailed investigation by Animal Services greatly assisted the law enforcement portion of this criminal investigation.

The criminal case was assigned to West Criminal Investigations Division. Detective Anthony Stafford continued investigative work on the case and obtained an arrest warrant for Cruelty To Non-Livestock Animals: Torture, which is a felony-grade offense. The suspect was identified as Tommy Wayne Hasting and he was arrested on Thursday, August 20, 2020 without incident.

The City of Arlington is pleased to announce that the cat, now named Robin, has been adopted as the official Animal Services shelter cat to assist with telling his story on anti-bullying and cruelty education program. “Robin has become a member of our shelter family and we are excited about having him,” said Ray Rentschler with Animal Services.  

“This disturbing case of torturing an animal will not be tolerated,” said Interim Police Chief Kevin Kolbye. “We will put as many resources as needed into animal cruelty investigations to bring justice in these types of cases.”