North Las Vegas Chick-fil-A operator accused of shooting, killing cat

The operator of a North Las Vegas Chick-fil-A and his adult son were arrested Thursday after detectives believe they beat and shot a neighborhood cat.

Karl Garcia was arrested on felony charges of malicious killing of a cat, five counts of discharging a gun where other persons might be endangered, conspiracy to kill an animal of another and destroying or concealing evidence, according to court records.

Logan Garcia was arrested on one felony count of malicious killing of a cat and gross misdemeanor charges of conspiracy to kill an animal of another and destroying or concealing evidence, according to court records.

Officers were called at 9:05 p.m. Wednesday to the Garcias’ home, near North Jones Boulevard north of West Grand Teton Drive, after a neighbor reported hearing gunshots, according to an arrest report from the Metropolitan Police Department released Friday.

Karl Garcia told officers a cat had attacked his dog, so he and his son shot it and threw it in a nearby dumpster. When detectives found the house cat, he still had its collar on and a review of the microchip showed his name was Taco.

“Taco was a friendly cat,” his owner told officers. The owner said neighbors hadn’t complained about Taco and that he was “shocked that they would brutally kill his cat.”

One of the Garcias’ dogs had a small scratch under his eye, but no other injuries were found.

When Logan was put into handcuffs, police said he exclaimed, “I did not shoot the cat, I had the bat.”

Video footage from the Garcias’ backyard showed Taco being barked at and cornered by three dogs before Logan Garcia came out and “forcefully swings a blanket” at Taco multiple times, the report said.

Further clips show Karl Garcia shooting the cat with a BB gun before he told his wife he’s going to shoot it with a .22-caliber handgun and went in the house.

The baseball bat was found with blood on it, and police said Taco had multiple injuries on his back, mouth, side and head.

“Karl further expressed that he had a right to protect his property same as if a person came onto his property,” according to the arrest report.

Detectives confirmed for the Review-Journal that Karl Garcia is the operator of the Chick-fil-A at 1720 W. Craig Road. A LinkedIn page for Garcia showed he had been operating the restaurant since January 2020 and previously worked for Amazon after leaving the U.S. Naval Academy.

Justice Court records indicate Karl Garcia had a prior conviction for domestic violence in 2008 and was sentenced to community service.

Their ages were redacted in the police report, but records show Karl Garcia was born in 1979 and Logan Garcia was born in 1997.

Both men were released without bail and are expected to have another hearing May 17.

Contact Sabrina Schnur at sschnur@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0278. Follow @sabrina_schnur on Twitter.