A 38-year-old Taylorsville man is facing felony and misdemeanor charges after police say they found his 5-month-old kitten dead in his open garage, then watched him stand in the doorway holding a box cutter, a lighter and later a knife while telling officers to come inside and “smoke” him. Shaun Clifford Jaussi was Tasered, arrested and taken to a hospital, where he was involuntarily committed on a psychiatric hold.
Jaussi was charged Thursday in 3rd District Court with torture of a companion animal, a third-degree felony, along with dangerous weapon conduct, a class A misdemeanor, and interfering with police, a class B misdemeanor, according to KSL.com. The charges stem from a Sept. 29 call to his apartment near 4300 South and 1100 West after it was reported that he had possibly killed his kitten, per the same outlet's account of the charging documents. The documents reviewed by KSL did not identify who made that report.
Officers Found the Kitten Already Dead
When officers arrived, they saw a kitten that appeared to be deceased in Jaussi's open garage, the charges state. Jaussi told them he had been training the kitten, then picked up its body and carried it inside the apartment, the station's report notes.
It was at that point that the confrontation escalated. Jaussi reportedly stood in the garage doorway holding a box cutter, a lighter and later a knife, telling officers to come inside and “smoke” him. Officers used a Taser on him and took him into custody before he was transported to a local hospital and placed on an involuntary psychiatric hold, according to the charging documents cited by the same account.
Autopsy Points to Blunt Force Trauma
An autopsy determined the kitten was killed by blunt force trauma, KSL reported. When asked about it, Jaussi told police he did not remember how the trauma occurred, but added that “a knock seems familiar.” He also said that if head trauma killed the cat, that was likely what happened, according to the charges.
The Taylorsville Police Department also said it has responded to 29 complaints involving Jaussi, describing an ongoing pattern of disturbance affecting the residential community, per the charging documents referenced in the report. The dates and nature of those prior complaints were not detailed in the available court filings.
A Grim Echo of a 2019 Utah Case
The allegations recall a 2019 case out of West Valley City, where police arrested Jordan Hagen, 27, on investigation of three felony counts of torture of a companion animal after he was accused of torturing and killing kittens, according to a separate KSL.com report. A jail report in that case said Hagen beat one kitten to death and used its body to beat another kitten into paralysis, and that he admitted to the acts and said he might do it again.
The available court records in Jaussi's case do not establish guilt, and no plea, hearing outcome or sentence has been reported. The case remains pending in 3rd District Court.
