MURRAY, Ky. (WKRC) — A Kentucky man known by locals as “Cowboy Cody” was taken into custody after he allegedly released a raccoon into a crowded bar Friday.
According to the authorities, 40-year-old Jonathan Mason of Murray, Kentucky was arrested after police say he released a raccoon in a bar, which resulted in one person being bit.
Officers with the Murray Police Department responded to the business at 9:18 p.m. after receiving a report of a disturbance. Officers found Mason driving and initiated a traffic stop, but the suspect allegedly refused to roll his window down or exit the vehicle, which prompted officers to forcibly remove him.
Authorities later learned that someone had been bitten by the raccoon and that Mason had been previously warned not to enter the property.
Mason was taken to the Calloway County Jail and charged with the following, according to police:
- Assault
- Criminal trespassing
- Resisting arrest
- Failure of owner to maintain required insurance
Mary Hafner, a bartender at the business involved in the incident, spoke to The New York Post, telling the publication that Mason had apparently “trapped a raccoon earlier in the day on his farm and he had been carrying it around with him.”
“I’m a bartender, so you know I’ve seen some crazy stuff in my time. But nothing like this,” Hafner told the publication.
Hafner explained to The Post that Mason lives alone on a farm in the area and has caused trouble at local bars in the past. She said Mason had already been drinking when he turned up at the bar that day, and was banned due to a previous incident involving a mule, per the publication.
Hafner told The Post that Mason had always liked her, so she attempted to convince him to leave.
“He said to me, ‘oh, I see how it is, they sent a pretty face out here to distract me,’” Hafner told the publication, adding that he initially appeared to comply with her request.
According to the publication, Mason allegedly returned to the bar moments later with the raccoon and released it into the establishment.
“It was more scared than anything,” Hafner said in regard to the animal, per The Post.
Hafner told the publication that another employee attempted to apprehend the raccoon by grabbing its tail and was consequently bitten by the animal, which required a rabies shot. Hafner said she was able to corner the raccoon with a towel and safely return it outside, where it fled, according to The Post.
“I’m no city slicker. I’m a Kentucky girl. I had no problem catching him,” Hafner told The Post.
WDKY-TV reported in December that Mason had been arrested after he turned up at Tap 216, already drinking, and riding a mule. The station’s report states that Mason entered the bar and allegedly began “whipping a bullwhip” at other patrons.
Mason was asked to leave, but he refused, and was later arrested by responding officers, per the outlet.
When speaking to authorities, a local business owner said Mason had rode the mule 15 miles into town to “break him in,” adding that “in all the years she has known Mason, she has witnessed poor treatment and abused looks of his horses,” WDKY reported.
The woman added “the more Mason becomes intoxicated, the worse his treatment of horses becomes,” according to the station, which cited court documents in its report.
Animal control determined that Mason’s mule appeared to be “around 100 pounds malnourished,” per the station.
Mason was taken to the Calloway County Jail, later released after posting bond and ordered to stay away from the mule and the bar, WDKY reported.
The following day, however, authorities responded to reports of an intoxicated man riding a mule in an area where Mason’s had been stabled, per the station.
According to the outlet, Mason was allegedly seen galloping down the road and tipping his hat bystander as they pass.
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Mason allegedly fled officers on the mule, but was eventually captured. He was taken into custody once again and charged with fleeing or evading police and cruelty to animals, per WDKY.
