Coworker Says Man Accused Of Bludgeoning Raccoons 'A Sweet Guy'

BOULDER, Colo.. (CBS4) - Police in Boulder say a man confessed to jumping into a dumpster and bludgeoning two raccoons for what the suspect said was revenge.

Investigators say Richard Moller, 50, beat the animals with a board full of nails in a dumpster on Monday. One of the raccoons died and police said the other was injured.

In the arrest affidavit Moller told police he attacked the raccoons out of revenge for a raccoon attack that killed his cat years ago.

A witness says he saw Moller jump inside the dumpster with a broken board with nails he watched him beat two raccoons. The witness told police he could hear the raccoons screaming and moaning.

"It was kind of a long board … with nails sticking out of it," a woman who witnessed the attack said..

The woman lives near the area where the attack occurred and happened to be taking out her trash. She said she has seen Moller on previous occasions.

"He seemed really strange and very extremely rude to me before, and I don't want to know the guy," the woman said.

"He's a really good guy, he's a sweet guy," said Tiffany Lough, an employee at nearby Boulder Liquor Mart.

Moller has worked at the Boulder Liquor Mart for 7 years. When he didn't show up for work Tuesday morning, coworkers went to his home. They also called both local hospitals but they never thought to check the Boulder County Jail.

"He's a good person and I hope that doesn't get missed in all of this because he really is a good guy," Lough said.

Moller told police he had a 10-minute glitch of anger. He also said he wasn't using the nail side of the board, only trying to hit them with blunt force trauma.

Moller faces two counts of felony animal cruelty. His bond was set at $1,000.