It’s not exactly the purr-fect crime.
A former Australian soldier with full tactical equipment allegedly broke into an animal shelter with an assault rifle and tied up a worker in a failed attempt to retrieve his kitten, according to a report on Wednesday.
Tony Wittmann, 44, was supposed to be so crazy when workers at the Melbourne House of Lost Dogs told him he needed to wait a day to pick up the pet; is accused of threatening the facility’s parking worker with a gun, according to ABC Australia.
“Do what I say and listen to me, I won’t shoot you,” he allegedly told her, a court heard this week. “Don’t try anything or I’ll shoot you.”
Wittmann brought the worker into the building with a firearm that looked like “something a film SWAT team would use,” the unidentified worker said, according to the medium.
Allegedly, he ordered the frightened little girl to direct him to the cats, and then demanded that she get on her knees and tie her with zippers.
“The accused said, ‘I’ll close that door. If I see you, I’ll shoot you,'” Senior Detective Officer Jo MacDonald told Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday.
“On this occasion, he has acted to regain possession of a cat, of which he would only be without possibly for ten hours.”
But Wittmann, who served in the Australian Army before being discharged for failing to provide efficient service, was eventually left empty-handed.
He was charged with kidnapping, false imprisonment and armed robbery and was denied bail.