There may finally be some justice for Bill, a 3-year-old cat that was shot twice with arrows and later died, authorities said. The story outraged the community in April 2006 when the orange tabby cat was discovered near Plymouth Drive in Vista.
A former neighbor of the cat's owner, Robert Brunner, 47, was charged with three counts of felony animal cruelty, said Deputy District Attorney Kate Flaherty. If convicted of all counts, he faces a sentence of four years and four months in jail. "We feel we that we can prove the case of animal cruelty against Mr. Brunner and work to achieve justice for the cat and its owners," Flaherty said. "The reality is that cat suffered in a way that is absolutely ghastly."
In May 2007, a North County civil court judge found Brunner responsible for Bill the cat's death and ordered him to pay the owner $7,500. Bill's owner, Janeen Bubien, 53, of Oceanside said she was thrilled when she found out that charges had been filed. "Bill the cat fights on," she said jubilantly.
The cat, who had one metal arrow through his neck and another through his back, was found April 12, 2006, and was taken to a veterinary clinic by animal control officers. The cat was initially pulling through after the arrows were removed by a surgeon, but suffered a pulmonary embolism and died two days later.
Bubien said the cat was killed about six weeks after her 27-year-old son, Trevor Daniel Johnson, committed suicide. She said she was too depressed at the time to talk with reporters. The day a story appeared in the newspaper, she said, she cut it out and took it down to a local liquor store and taped it to the front door, hoping someone would come forward with information.
Flaherty said investigators later developed information that led to Brunner. She said she could not elaborate.
Bubien said although investigators had information in the case, it stalled at times because animal cruelty cases don't always have the highest priority. Still, Bubien said she checked with them regularly. She joked that she kept pecking away at everyone, including North County Humane Society Officer Eric MacPherson, who gave her updates on the case. When she got the phone call that the district attorney's office had decided to charge Brunner, she said it was very emotional. "I dropped to my knees and I just started crying, 'Thank you,'" she said. "It lifted my heart. I have not been happy and I woke up today and I felt happy like I've done something (good)."
She said that in March 2007 she filed a civil lawsuit against Brunner to have him pay $2,500 for the remaining veterinary costs. The lawsuit was settled in May 2007 and the judge gave her additional money to help her pay for a move from the neighborhood.
Brunner will remain jailed on a $7,500 bond until the case is resolved, Flaherty said. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 28, 2007. Case UpdatesA Vista man who killed a former neighbor's cat by shooting it with two arrows pleaded guilty Monday to felony animal cruelty.
Robert Eugene Brunner, 47, was sentenced immediately by Judge K. Michael Kirkman to three years in state prison.
According to testimony in a preliminary hearing, Brunner told a woman he shot the arrows at a cat that had been urinating "all over" his yard on Plymouth Drive on the night of April 9, 2006.
A 10-year-old boy testified that he saw the 3-year-old tabby named "Bill" on the morning of April 12 in a neighbor's yard, still impaled with the arrows.
The cat's owner, Janeen Bubien, had the arrows surgically removed, but Bill died two days later.
Bubien sued, and a judge found Brunner liable for the cat's death. The defendant was ordered to pay the woman $2,500 for Bill's death, plus an additional $5,000 to pay for her to move. | Source: North County Times - Sept 18, 2007
Update posted on Sep 18, 2007 - 9:07AM |
A San Diego County man will be tried in early October on two animal-cruelty counts for allegedly using crossbow to kill a neighbor's tabby cat.
The 3-year-old tabby named Bill was found near his owner's home in suburban Vista with metal arrows in its neck and back the morning of April 12th, 2006. The cat died two days later after undergoing surgery.
According to a prosecution witness, Robert Brunner said he fired the arrows at the cat because it was urinating in his yard.
Brunner has pleaded not guilty to maliciously or intentionally killing an animal and a related count of animal abuse.
He remains in custody in lieu of $75,000 bond. | Source: CBS 8 - Aug 21, 2007
Update posted on Aug 21, 2007 - 2:32PM |
A Vista man accused of fatally shooting a former neighbor's cat with two arrows will stand trial on two counts of animal cruelty, a judge ruled Monday.
Robert Eugene Brunner, 47, fired the arrows at Bill, a 3-year-old orange tabby, because it was "pissing all over" his yard on Plymouth Drive during the night of April 9 last year, a witness testified at a preliminary hearing.
Deena Marie Thornton, who spent that night in a trailer at Brunner's property while he worked on her car, said Brunner came into the trailer and mentioned something about having to get a cat "off a tree" before the property owner saw it.
"He said he shot it with arrows and it was stuck to the tree," Thornton said.
The woman conceded that she never saw the cat or the tree, but witnessed the defendant digging up a palm tree later that night.
A 10-year-old boy who lived down the street from the defendant testified that he spotted Bill, with the two arrows still in it, in a neighbor's yard on the morning of April 12 and notified the owner, Janeen Bubien.
The arrows were surgically removed, but the cat died two days later.
Deputy District Attorney Katherine Flaherty originally filed three animal cruelty charges against Brunner -- one for each arrow and one for torturing and tormenting the feline.
Judge Joel Pressman dismissed one of the arrow counts, since it was part of the same act.
The judge set an Aug. 20 hearing for the defendant, who is in custody on $75,000 bail, to receive a trial date. | Source: 10 News - Aug 6, 2007
Update posted on Aug 6, 2007 - 5:14PM |
A preliminary hearing is scheduled Monday for a Vista man accused of fatally shooting a former neighbor's cat with two arrows.
Robert Brunner has already been found civilly liable for the death of Bill, a 3-year-old orange tabby discovered April 12 last year on Plymouth Drive with arrows through its neck and back.
The arrows in Janeen Bubien's pet were surgically removed, but the feline died two days later.
Brunner is charged with three counts of animal cruelty and could face more than four years in prison if convicted, according to Deputy District Attorney Katherine Flaherty.
The incident took place six weeks after the suicide of Bubien's 27-year-old son, according to the North County Times.
Bubien sued Brunner, and the case was settled in civil court when a judge ordered him to pay her $2,500. The judge added $5,000 in the settlement to help Bubien move away.
Today's preliminary hearing is intended to help a judge determine if Brunner should stand trial. | Source: Sign on San Diego - July 16, 2007
Update posted on Jul 16, 2007 - 5:33PM |
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