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NJ Man Allegedly Shot Squirrels With BB Gun & Hung Bodies On Backyard Fence

LINDEN, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- A Linden, N.J. man is accused of assassinating some annoying, pesky and nuisance-causing neighbors -- a family of squirrels.

Police in Linden filed animal cruelty charges against Richard Baird, 49, earlier this month after finding several dead squirrels hanging from a wood stockade fence in his backyard.

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Det. Lt. James Sarnicki believes Baird was growing frustrated with the fuzzy-tailed squirrels, who were crawling through a hole in the side of his house.

Dead Squirrels
(credit: Handout)

"He was frustrated to the point where he proceeded to put some peanut butter by a tree in one of his backyards to lure the squirrels to the peanut butter and then he was shooting them with a BB gun," Sarnicki said. "After he killed them, for some unexplainable reason, he was hanging their bodies from one of the fences in the backyard."

If convicted, Baird faces a fine between $250 and $1,000. He also could face up to 6 months in prison for animal cruelty and up to 30 days of community service at a designated animal shelter at the discretion of the judge.

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