Sag Harbor Man Charged With Using A Rifle To Kill Farm Rooster

A 45-year-old Sag Harbor man is being charged with a felony after he allegedly shot and killed a rooster on Foster Farm in Sagaponack on Nov. 3. 

According to police, Jameson Ellis was driving a 1999 Subaru down Main Street in Sagaponack at around 8:30 a.m. when he was stopped for an expired inspection sticker. When the officer questioned Ellis, he discovered a box of .22 caliber rifle bullets sitting in the front seat. The officer then noticed the .22 rifle in the back of the vehicle behind the driver. 

Police said when questioned, Ellis told the officer he had just been at Foster Farm and had shot a rooster, which was in the back of the vehicle. The officer found the dead rooster and asked Ellis to confirm that this was the same bird. According to the report, Ellis replied “Yes, I just shot it.”

Ellis was taken into custody. Police then discovered that the weapon had an illegal silencer attached. Ellis was charged with third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, a felony, for the illegal silencer and prohibited use of a firearm, a misdemeanor, for discharging the rifle.

Police said Ellis had permission from the farm owner to shoot the rooster, but it is illegal to fire a rifle on Long Island.