CHARDON, Ohio (WJW) – A Geauga County grand jury has indicted a 51-year-old man on a felony animal cruelty charge for running over and killing his pet cat.

Hayyal Ighneim was indicted Monday. He is due in court Sept. 6 for an arraignment.

Ighneim, of Chesterland, told the I-Team he did not mean to kill the 15-year-old cat. He said the cat was sick and he brought it to a wooded area hoping it would run away. He said the cat ran under his SUV. He said he drove away and realized he hit the cat. He said he noticed the cat was still alive but seriously injured. So he ran over the cat again.

We asked him why he didn’t bring the cat to a veterinarian. He said he felt that would prolong her suffering.

Geauga County Prosecutor Jim Flaiz says the incident was caught on security video. Flaiz believes the Ighneim intentionally killed the cat.

Ighneim could face time behind bars if convicted.