ELMA, N.Y. — Two men from Elma are facing animal cruelty and burglary charges.
Erie County Sheriff's Office investigators say they received a complaint on December 26 of two individuals walking down a road in Elma carrying dead chickens.
The next day, they received a call from a Hemstreet resident that the door to his barn was left open and that there was a severed chicken head on the floor. Two of his chickens were missing, along with a duck. The duck was later located on an adjacent property deceased.
The sheriff's office interviewed several residents and were able to get a description of the suspects. One witness told deputies they saw two males walking down Hemstreet yelling, swearing, and high-fiving each other.
Based on the description and information about the suspects, police arrested Austin Jimerson, 22 and Aden Jimerson, 20.
Both men were arraigned on Tuesday and have been charged with a felony count of burglary as well as misdemeanor counts of criminal mischief, torturing an animal, and petit larceny.
The sheriff's office could not confirm the relationship between the two men.
Both are scheduled to return to court on January 20, 2020.