ONLINE FIRST: McCune Mayor suspected of cruelty to animals

The Fort Scott Tribune

The mayor of McCune, Don Call, is reportedly suspected of cruelty to animals after shooting two dogs, according to the Crawford County Sheriff's Office.

On Sunday, Feb. 1, at about 11:50 a.m., Crawford County Sheriff's Office received a report from McCune resident Mike York saying he witnessed Call shoot and kill two dogs belonging to Duane Whal.

According to Crawford County Sheriff Sandy Horton, when a deputy arrived on scene he was met by Call. Call then reportedly advised the deputy, he had received a call from two other McCune residents, Tim and Sandy Gomez, who said the dogs chased their two children.

Call told the deputy he traveled to the residence where the animals were, shot them and later returned with a trailer to transport the dead dogs to his property, according to Horton. According to the deputy's report, there are conflicting stories regarding whether or not the two animals were chained up when they were shot.

According to the Sheriff's department, Whal has been reported four times since July 2008, for allowing three German Shepherds to run loose. Whal advised he had ridded himself of the animals on Jan. 12. Whal only claimed one of the two dogs, saying the fatally shot German Shepherd was not his.

The deputy responding to the call reported that he was able to view the two dead animals and verified visually that the dogs appeared to have been killed from gun shot wounds.

The sheriff's office reported it would likely file an affidavit of arrest today, however, the Crawford County District Clerk's Office as well as the county attorney's office were unable to verify receiving the affidavit. If an affidavit of arrest is filed, it will be up to the district judge whether an arrest warrant is necessary.