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James Nix Jr., 54, is accused of beating a rooster to death with a lead pipe as children watched, asking “why is he so mean?”
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Four children in Northwest Jacksonville waved a friendly neighbor down on May 11, alerting him, “The man with the blue truck beat a rooster with a steel pole and killed it.”
That man, 54-year-old James Nix Jr., a resident of Peeples Lane, has been charged with aggravated animal cruelty, police say.
According to an arrest warrant, the kids pointed to a deceased rooster lying in a yard, and the incident was reported to Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Animal Code Enforcement.
Witnesses say the rooster was a good rooster. No one ever saw the rooster attacking anyone. Two witnesses cried, according to police.
An investigation began, with the four main witnesses of Peeples Lane. ranging in age between seven and 12-years-old.
Photos of the deceased bird were sent to police.
Officers knocked on Nix Jr.’s padlocked door to no answer, stapling a notice-to-respond on his mailbox. A camper was nestled in his backyard.
Nix Jr. responded, stating, “The rooster has always been messing with me and running up on me. It scratched my Dad. It came after me.”
On May 30, one citation was issued to Nix Jr. for cruelty to an animal, police said.
When asked what happened to the rooster, Nix Jr. told police, “The rooster disappeared because of him trying to attack.”
The witnesses told police they saw Nix Jr. kill the animal.
Police informed Nix Jr. he would be cited for allowing the animal to suffer and not seek medical help.
Then Nix Jr. told officers, “The rooster walked away and fell into a ditch.”
Witnesses said the rooster was in the road and not on Nix Jr.’s property. And that Nix Jr. walked to the road, approaching the rooster with a steel pole in his hand, according to police.
“Nix Jr. struck the rooster in the head with the steel pole,” witnesses said. “He picked up the rooster and carried it over to a ditch and covered the rooster with sticks.”
Crying witnesses wanted to know, “Why the suspect was so mean? The rooster didn’t attack him.”
According to the mother of the witnesses, the rooster never attacked anyone.
