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Castle Rock man charged with felony after killing neighbors’ cow

By Matthew Esnayra, The Daily News
Published: February 20, 2023, 7:35am

CASTLE ROCK — A Castle Rock man is charged with unlawful possession of a firearm after shooting and killing a pregnant cow, who he said was attacking his dog.

Richard Carl Bruce, 35, is expected to appear in a Cowlitz County Superior Court on March 23, after he shot the cow on the night of Aug. 8, as stated in court documents.

Bruce was convicted of the felony of second-degree assault in 2015, barring him from owning a firearm, according to police.

One of the cow’s owners Jeffrey Washburn told authorities that he heard “some noises,” and then Bruce yelling for him to retrieve his livestock. As Washburn was walking toward the neighboring property, he reportedly heard gunfire.

When Washburn arrived, he told authorities he came upon his now dead cow and Bruce holding a pump-action shotgun.

Washburn told Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office deputies he had permission from the property owner, which is not Bruce, to allow his cows to graze on the land.

Bruce told the deputies that the cow was “stomping” and “ramming” his dog with its head.

The probable cause statement says Bruce “yelled” at the cow to stop attacking his dog. He went inside the residence to grab the property owner’s shotgun and fired two warning shots into the ground, but the cow continued attacking and Bruce fired “one round into the rear of the cow,” he told police.

Cowlitz County Deputy Craig Murray writes in the report that security camera footage “showed most of the incident” and that he “appeared to be very truthful about the event.”

Bruce is not charged with animal cruelty. Murray writes “… it was OK to defend his dog in his own backyard, [but] it was still illegal for him to possess a firearm as a convicted felon.”

Teresa Washburn, Jeffrey’s mother and another owner of the cow, told The Daily News Bruce the incident cost her at least $5,000 of earnings due to the loss of meat, plus future earnings from the calf that would have become fully grown cattle.

The cow, named Astro, was about “two or three months pregnant” at the time of the shooting, said Jeffrey Washburn.

Astro’s calf, mother and grandmother are still alive.

“They were a family and had never been apart,” said Teresa Washburn.

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