Fox News Flash top headlines for Dec. 17
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The father of Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott was charged in connection to an exotic cat that was on the loose in Ohio earlier this year.
Stacy Elliott, also known as El Muhammad, will be facing 21 charges after a serval cat belonging to him was shot and killed October after it attacked a dog in Fairfield County, the Ohio Department of Agriculture said Tuesday.
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A serval cat is native to Africa and to own one in Ohio requires a special permit. Officials said there are no serval cats kept with a permit in the county. The animal is about a foot tall, has a small head, large ears, black spots and a black striped tail.
Ezekiel Elliott's father allegedly had a serval cat in Ohio. (iStock)
Neighbors told WBNS-TV that they have seen “wolf dogs” and other exotic animals around for years and they believed the animals were coming from Elliott’s home. The neighbors told the station they saw the serval cat wearing a collar while it roamed the neighborhood prior to being killed.
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The Ohio Department of Agriculture filed nine charges against Elliott, including failure to notify of dangerous wild animal escape, falsification, obstruction of official business, allowing a dangerous wild animal to escape, failure to notify law enforcement of a dangerous wild animal escape, failure to have a dangerous wild animal signage at property entrance, possession of a dangerous wild animal, failure to obtain a dangerous wild animal permit and failure to have a dangerous wild animal signage on cage.
According to WBNS-TV, eight of the charges are first-degree misdemeanors. An obstruction charge is a second-degree misdemeanor.
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Elliott is facing 12 other charges by other agencies involved in the investigation.