It's a Ferret Life

Police: Hoping for reward, he ended up tossing ferret

Derry –A local man faces an animal-cruelty charge after police say he kept a ferret in his custody hoping for reward money and wound up tossing it out an apartment building window, according to court documents.

Two witnesses told police they saw Wilton "Rusty" French, 44, who is described as homeless and living in Derry, throw the white ferret out of a third-story bedroom window at 15 W. Broadway, according to court papers.

Police found the ferret lying dead on West Broadway on the night of June 30 after responding to a report of a domestic disturbance, police said. The ferret had apparently been run over, but police believe it died from the fall.

Police allege that French took the ferret into his custody on June 30, hoping that the owner would post a reward for it.

"The ferret did not belong to Rusty, but he told the person who found it that it was his," Officer Stephen Clark wrote in a request for an arrest warrant filed in Derry District Court.

The ferret's owner, Laurence Adams, told police he lost the ferret June 30 and had spoken to French about it, Clark wrote. Court records do not indicate what investigators believe led to French tossing the ferret out of the window.

French was arrested Monday night on a warrant charging him with misdemeanor animal cruelty and theft of lost or mislaid property. Judge Robert Stephen released French on $10,000 personal recognizance bail and gave him a trial date of Nov. 14.

While he's awaiting trial, French is forbidden from possessing any domesticated animals and cannot drink alcohol.

If convicted, French faces up to a year behind bars on each of the misdemeanor charges.