Attorneys/Judges
| Defense(s): | Jonathan Gable | | Judge(s): | John Cronan, Karen Nash Sequino |
11 cats seized, more found dead from trauma
Ansonia, CT (US)Incident Date: Friday, Aug 8, 2008
County: New Haven
Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: Jay Baldwin
Case Updates: 4 update(s) available
Ansonia police have charged a man with animal cruelty after finding nearly a dozen neglected cats, police said.
Police said they arrested Jay Baldwin, 57, Friday morning and charged him with 10 counts of animal cruelty. Police said they found the cats, and a number of birds, during a search warrant following a neighbor's complaint that Baldwin killed one of the cats.
In total, 11 cats were removed from Baldwin's home, police said. Baldwin never took the cats to their regular vet visits, but instead underfed and neglected the animals, police said.
"They had fleas, ear mites; they were sneezing and coughing," Dr. T.C. Nanavati of the Ansonia Animal Hospital said. "It's neglect because otherwise you'd take them to the vet."
Police said seven cats were taken to the Ansonia Animal Hospital, but two were badly neglected and had to be euthanized, police said.
Nanavati is taking care of the remaining five cats. He said Baldwin has a history of taking in animals he cannot afford to keep. In 2002, Baldwin was given an $800 vet bill.
"He used to come and pick up one, two cats, and I said, 'Why do you need all these cats? And you should not be getting any more kittens,"' Nanavati said.
Nanavati said one way to avoid neglect is prevention.
"Don't have a lot of cats; one or two is enough. If you have a lot of cats, then neuter them," he said.
The cats will remain at the hospital and will be up for adoption after Baldwin's case is settled.
Baldwin was arrested and charged with animal cruelty. He is being held on a $5,000 bond.
Case UpdatesThe former Ansonia resident accused of multiple counts of animal cruelty is seeking a newly created diversionary program for mentally ill offenders, despite the fact he has a long list of convictions dating to 2001.
Jay Baldwin, 57, is charged with 10 counts of animal cruelty after police say he killed a kitten he had in his possession. A number of other cats were removed from Baldwin's apartment at that time, several of which were later euthanized because of their poor condition.
On Wednesday, Baldwin's public defender, Jonathan Gable, asked the court to consider Baldwin for a new supervised diversionary program, which he said went into effect Oct. 1.
The program is similar to accelerated rehabilitation, a special form of probation available to first-time offenders of less serious crimes, but it is geared for those who may be suffering from a mental illness, according to William Carbone, the state Judicial Branch's executive director of court support services.
"It's like accelerated rehabilitation, except it specifically targets people with psychiatric disabilities and in particular people who sit in jail pretrial unable to make the bond that was set," he said.
The program is applicable to the same crimes as is accelerated rehabilitation, he said, "but what is different is once it is granted, the treatment must be immediately available." The person goes under the supervision of an adult probation officer who has a reduced workload in order to pay more attention to the individual, Carbone said.
The program aims to address the increasing number of people with mental health issues who are coming into the criminal justice system, he said.
"This is an effort to respond from a treatment standpoint rather than a punishment standpoint," he said. It also should help alleviate jail overcrowding with those waiting to go to trial, he said.
Like accelerated rehabilitation, it wipes clean the charges from the offender's record when the program is successfully completed, Carbone said, but unlike accelerated rehabilitation, it is available to those who have prior convictions.
Baldwin already has several convictions under his belt, beginning in 2001 when he was fined $90 for an arrest by Shelton police on charges of creating a public disturbance.
In 2002, he pleaded guilty to second-degree breach of peace and was sentenced to a six-month suspended jail sentence and two years of probation.
In 2006, he pleaded guilty to sixth-degree larceny and was given an "unconditional discharge," according to court records, and a year later he was fined $50 for failure to carry registration and insurance papers.
Then, in September, he pleaded guilty to charges of sixth-degree larceny and first-degree criminal trespass. He was sentenced to a 90-day suspended jail term and one year of conditional discharge.
He is due back in Derby Superior Court Nov. 25 on the most recent charges, at which time Judge Karen Sequino could rule on the program request. | Source: Connecticut Post - Oct 29, 2008
Update posted on Oct 29, 2008 - 11:04PM |
A former Ansonia man charged with 10 counts of animal cruelty after a kitten died in his care will likely abuse more cats if released from jail, his accuser said Tuesday, enraged over a judge's decision to lower the suspect's bond.
Irene Hudobenko issued her warning a day after Derby Superior Court Judge Karen Nash Sequino slashed Jay Baldwin's bond in the animal-cruelty case from $10,000 to $5,000. She also took exception to a public defender's claim that the cat that died in Baldwin's care may have ingested rat poisoning.
"It's really hard to believe," Hudobenko said.
Hudobenko met Baldwin in May when he responded to an ad she posted looking for homes for several stray kittens. Baldwin adopted two of the kittens, one of which died several weeks later.
Once she learned the kitten had died, Hudobenko took the body to two different veterinarians, trying to find out what killed the cat. Both autopsies showed trauma to the kitten's head and neck, she said, with blood filling the eye, nose and mouth cavities.
But Baldwin's attorney, Jonathan Gable, told Sequino during a court hearing Monday that Baldwin says the kitten may have ingested rat poisoning. Gable said the kitten had bloody diarrhea for a week before its death and Baldwin informed Hudobenko of that fact -- something she vehemently denies.
"That is a boldface lie," she said. "He didn't call me about it the day before or the week before. This was all fabricated after he got arrested."
Neither autopsy mentioned any evidence of bloody diarrhea, she said. "And even if the kitten did get into rat poisoning, in no way would that cause neck trauma."
There are still nine other cats that Baldwin is accused of mistreating, Hudobenko said, several of which had to be euthanized after they were removed from his possession. "Did they all get into rat poisoning?" she asked.
Gable couldn't be reached for comment Tuesday. Baldwin remained jailed as of Tuesday afternoon.
If Baldwin posts bond, which his attorney said could happen this week, he'll likely get more cats, despite a condition that he not own any animals, Hudobenko said.
"Though this whole thing originally started out wanting him to pay for killing my kitten, it now goes beyond one cat or two cats," she said. "This goes for all the other kittens and all of the cats of his that are missing and future cats he will get his hands on when he gets out.
"I am afraid that he has so much anger inside him that God help the next animal he adopts," she said. "That really frightens me." | Source: Connecticut Post - Sept 10, 2008
Update posted on Sep 11, 2008 - 12:37AM |
The former Ansonia man accused of killing at least one cat and mistreating several others that had to be euthanized pleaded not guilty Friday to 10 counts of animal cruelty.
His head shaved and legs in shackles, Jay Baldwin stood before Judge John Cronan with Public Defender Jonathan Gable by his side. In the audience were more than a dozen animal rights activists, many toting signs calling for the harshest of penalties for Baldwin.
The case was continued to Sept. 8. Baldwin, 57, dressed in jeans and a blue plaid shirt, was then led out of the courtroom to be transported back to the Bridgeport Correctional Center, where he is being held in lieu of $10,000 bond.
If he posts bond, he needs to get a mental evaluation and can't own any animals, Cronan said.
Baldwin was arrested Aug. 8 on a warrant. He allegedly killed one of two kittens he adopted from Ansonia resident Irene Hudobenko, who later retrieved the surviving kitten and had autopsies done on the deceased kitten. Those results show that the cat - that she had called "my little boy" - had died of blunt trauma to the head.
Hudobenko was outside Derby Superior Court on Friday, along with about a dozen others, including Baldwin's former neighbor, Georgejinna Chevrette.
Her blue Burmese cat has been missing since April, Chevrette said, and she fears the worst.
Another former neighbor said he was engaged in a running battle with Baldwin until they were both evicted in July.
Mark Carlowitz and his girlfriend, Rosalie Bishop, lived in the apartment below Baldwin's and said they heard strange noises from above the whole time Baldwin lived there.
"There were cats screeching and crying in the middle of the night and all hours of the day," Carlowitz said. "I can't even tell you how many times I called the police."
The situation was so bad that he kept a running diary documenting the problems the couple had with Baldwin, Carlowitz said. Baldwin would spend the nights pacing back and forth, he said, and there were numerous cats in his apartment.
After Baldwin's court appearance, several activists who came to watch the proceedings stayed in the court lobby talking to Gable. One urged him to have Baldwin put in a mental facility, which sparked a confrontation between the two.
"He's mentally ill," Donna Ploss told Gable. "If he gets out, your little kid is next." That enraged Gable, who stopped Ploss from leaving.
But Ploss said her comment wasn't a threat. "It's not a threat," she said. "I'm just telling you that if he gets out he will start on little kids."
Gable, however, said his client does need mental health treatment. "It is quite obvious he has mental health issues," he said.
Baldwin also is facing burglary and larceny charges stemming from an incident in Milford. In the past he has been convicted of breach of peace, fifth- and sixth-degree larceny and violation of a protective order, Gable said, but has never served jail time for any of those convictions. | Source: The Connecticut Post - Aug 23, 2008
Update posted on Aug 23, 2008 - 9:14AM |
A small group of animal lovers protesting outside Superior Court Friday morning demanded harsh punishment for the 57-year-old Ansonia man charged with 10 counts of cruelty to animals, and more stringent state animal cruelty laws.
For the hour preceding Jay Baldwin's court appearance, in which he pleaded not guilty to the charges, a half-dozen protesters stood on the sidewalk in front of the court, waving signs and calling out to passers-by.
"Raise your voice for those who have none! Send Jay Baldwin serial cat killer to jail!" read a large sign held by Donna Ploss of East Hartford. The face of a tiny kitten that allegedly died at the hands of Baldwin, its blue eyes big and round, stared out from the sign.
"Somebody's got to speak for the animals," Ploss said. Of all the animal cruelty cases that have occurred in the state, she said, "This is the most heinous of all. I was absolutely sick when I read the article" about Baldwin's arrest.
Baldwin was arrested Aug. 8 following a police investigation that found one kitten had died of head trauma while in his care, and several other cats were ill and malnourished. A search of Baldwin's residence turned up nine cats and five birds. Baldwin had returned two other kittens, including the one who died, to Irene Hudobenko, who had allowed Baldwin to adopt them.
All of the cats appeared to be neglected or abused, police said, with problems ranging from poor nutrition to trauma and parasites. Four of the cats eventually had to be euthanized.
"I want to see this guy really be stopped," Hudobenko said.
"Our animal abuse laws are so slack in this state," Hudobenko said. She and her fiance, Jeff DeBiase, vowed that after fighting for the maximum allowable sentence for Baldwin, they would push for stricter laws.
The protesters for the most part showed no sympathy for Baldwin.
But JoAnne Martino of Shelton, Baldwin's former landlord who stood quietly alongside the protesters, said Baldwin "needs to be put in an institution, not prison, because prison's not going to help him."
Martino said she confronted Baldwin, who lived in her Ansonia apartment since February 2007, on multiple occasions about the overabundance of cats in his apartment. She said she once removed a dozen cats and took them to an animal shelter. But Baldwin quickly replaced them, she said.
Despite her ongoing troubles with Baldwin and his cats, Martino said she never knew the extent of the problem.
"I never thought that they were being murdered," she said.
Following a brief court appearance in which Baldwin entered a not guilty plea, his attorney, Assistant Public Defender Jonathan Gable, said, "I think it's quite obvious he has some mental health issues." The court ordered mental evaluation hasn't been done yet, Gable said.
Gable couldn't say whether Baldwin, who was being held in Bridgeport, would post the $10,000 bail, but said, "He's pretty much destitute."
According to Gable, animal cruelty that results in the death of an animal can carry up to five years in jail. Whether that punishment applies to the four cats that had to be euthanized after Baldwin's allegedly abuse depends on the interpretation of the law, he said.
Protesters surrounded Gable as he spoke to reporters in the courthouse lobby.
"If (Baldwin) gets out, your little kid is next," Ploss told Gable, who is father to an infant. Gable chased after her as she rushed away from the crowd, and demanded to know her name. He later said he wouldn't press charges.
Baldwin's next court date is Sept. 8.
He has another case pending in Milford court, where he is charged with second-degree burglary, sixth-degree larceny and first-degree criminal trespass. | Source: New Haven Register - Aug 23, 2008
Update posted on Aug 23, 2008 - 8:59AM |
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