YOUNGSTOWN — Mahoning County Common Pleas Court Judge Anthony D’Apolito said he was reluctant to allow Daniel A. Curl, 38, of Lipply Road in Beaver Township to enter the judge’s Honor Court after hearing that Curl is charged with a felony cruelty to companion animals charge and a gun specification.

Curl is accused of shooting his cousin’s cat, which survived. It happened at Curl’s home Sept. 16, and the cat belongs to Curl’s cousin, prosecutors said. Honor Court is for military veterans charged with crimes by providing counseling, mentoring, supervision and mental health services to help them lead happy and fulfilling lives, according to Honor Court materials.

The judge said he makes it no secret that “I love animals, and I think everyone knows that about me. I don’t like when animals are hurt, especially someone’s pet.”

He said he was “hesitant” to approve Honor Court for Curl, but he is told that Curl thought the cat was “feral.”

Ron Yarwood, Curl’s attorney, then interjected that Curl “thought it was a feral animal. He really thought that there was a raccoon that was getting into his garbage, out in the country, and then what he thought was a feral animal.”

Yarwood said Curl “made a call in advance” regarding a “feral animal,” and “the guidance he got was that you can treat a feral animal differently than you can treat a companion animal.”

Yarwood said he is not “trying to condone it, but maybe 30 to 40 years ago, this wouldn’t be what we have, but I think this is a fair resolution.”

Mahoning County Assistant Prosecutor Katherine Jones said the cat survived a “gunshot wound to the head.” She said she spoke to Curl’s cousin and the investigator with the Beaver Township Police Department before recommending Honor Court for Curl.

She said Curl was evaluated by the Honor Court team and found to be appropriate for the program.

“So the cat is still alive?” the judge asked. “Yes sir,” Jones said.

“All right. So we’ll do this then,” he said.

Curl will serve 10 days in the county jail starting March 26 as part of his plea and pay restitution of $1,762, Jones said. If he completes the program successfully, his charges will be dismissed.

The judge warned Curl if he fails to complete the Honor Court program, the judge will “have no discretion except to send you to prison for a minimum of 3 1/2 years.” D’Apolito noted that some people have failed to complete the program and went to prison.

“We’re going to give you help. We’re going to give you an opportunity. This is really the last chance,” he said.

A Beaver Township police report states that officers were called to Curl’s house at 9:23 p.m. by the owner, saying Curl shot his cat in the head. The owner said he heard gunshots earlier that day, but that was not unusual because Curl shoots a .22 caliber weapon on his property.

But later, he found his cat on Curl’s property and saw that it was bloody. He saw the cat was wounded on the back part of its ear, apparently from a bullet. One eye was “bulged out, but an exit wound was not located. The cat was still alive but was not doing well,” the report states.

Curl told the officers he spoke with a wildlife officer, who told Curl he could “shoot raccoons any time he wants, “and that because raccoons were potentially getting into his stuff on the porch, he was allowed to shoot them.”

“He was asked why he would shoot a cat, and he told me that he has cats roam through his property all the time. He stated further that he did not know if it was getting into his stuff on the porch, so he shot it, and then shot at it again, but it ran off,” the report states.

Curl showed officers the area behind his house where he shot the cat. Curl told officers he did not know it belonged to his cousin.