Gregory Ulrich is a convicted felon and a resident Milford, Connecticut. In January, 2018 Gregory Ulrich was arrested and charged after allegedly ripping the heads off of 20 chickens. ^[0]

On Christmas Day Gregory Ulrich and his friend John Budnovitch allegedly went on a drunken rampage in Milford which ended in Ulrich ripping the heads off of 20 chickens with his bare hands. ^[1]

Police said Budnovitch watched while Gregory Ulrich smashed the chickens’ heads and tore them from their bodies with his bare hands, police said, calling the act “gruesome.”

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Ulrich was arrested on 20 counts of cruelty to animals and other charges, police said. John Budnovitch was charged with conspiracy (crime) to commit cruelty to animals. Both were arrested Wednesday and both posted court-set bail; Ulrich’s was $15,000 and Budnovitch’s was $5,000. They are due in Superior Court in Milford on January 30, 2018. ^[0]

According to Officer Michael DeVito, the two left a bar early on Christmas morning and drove off, with Budnovitch behind the wheel.

Ulrich was drunk and upset about pictures he saw on social media of people hanging out with his wife, DeVito said. ^[0]

“Ulrich was highly intoxicated and was in a jealous rage,” he said.

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Ulrich had Budnovitch drive to the homes of the people who sparked his fury, most of whom lived in the city’s Devon section, and he took an ax to their car windows — once leaning out of the car to swing it while Budnovitch was driving, DeVito said.

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Ulrich then had Budnovitch drive to a home with chickens on the property.

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“By the end of the whole mission, now it’s like 3 or 4 in the morning, [Ulrich] tells him, ‘I’m going behind this house,’” DeVito said.

Ulrich stole 10 chickens, he said.

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“He banged them on the ground to kill them and snapped the heads off,” DeVito said.

Some of the heads were left lying around the owners’ property.

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Ulrich put them in a bag, claiming he would boil them and eat them, DeVito said.

He had Budnovitch drive to another home that had chickens, tore off the chicken coop doors and killed those chickens, too, DeVito said — all with his bare hands.

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Police checked on the wife to make sure she was OK, DeVito said, but there were no signs Ulrich had been violent with her or intended to injure her.

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Besides cruelty to animals, Ulrich was charged with fifth-degree larceny and interfering with a police officer.

He also was charged with three counts of first-degree criminal mischief and 10 counts of second-degree criminal mischief, police said.

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Budnovitch’s other charges include traffic violations: using a motor vehicle without the owner’s permission, operating a motor vehicle while under suspension and evading responsibility, police said.

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He also was charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit first-degree criminal mischief and six counts of conspiracy to commit second-degree criminal mischief, they said.

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On May 17, 2016, Ulrich was sentenced in the Superior Court in Milford to six months in jail for carrying a pistol without a permit, illegal possession of a weapon in a vehicle, first-degree reckless endangerment, breach of peace, and carrying a firearm while under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol, according to court records. ^[0]

He also was fined in 2010 in Waterbury court for possession of less than four ounces of marijuana and received an unconditional discharge in Milford for a motor vehicle violation, according to court records. ^[0]