Attorneys/Judges
| Prosecutor(s): | Dave Melton | | Defense(s): | Sarah Swain | | Judge(s): | James George |
CONVICTED: Was justice served?
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Case #15189 Rating: 1.3 out of 5
Animal cruelty, sodomy suspected
Lawrence, KS (US)Incident Date: Wednesday, Feb 4, 2009
County: Douglas
Charges: Felony CTA
Disposition: Convicted
Defendant/Suspect: Cem Basoflas
Case Updates: 6 update(s) available
A 20-year-old man was arrested by Lawrence police Wednesday on suspicion of animal cruelty and criminal sodomy of an animal.
Police announced the arrest Thursday, and the suspect was being held in Douglas County Jail. Charges are pending.
The same man also has a pending case of animal cruelty in Douglas County District Court stemming from an alleged incident in August.
Officers were dispatched about 10 a.m. Wednesday to investigate suspicious activity in the 2100 block of Heatherwood Drive. A property manager reported that maintenance crews found a substance thought to be blood inside a residence, according to a police news release.
Police obtained a search warrant for the residence. Shortly before 3 p.m. the suspect returned to the residence and was questioned by police before being taken to jail. An investigation is continuing.
Prosecutors are waiting on additional information from police, but charges are expected to be filed today, Chief Assistant District Attorney Dave Melton said.
Case UpdatesA former University of Kansas student will be deported to his home country of Turkey for abusing a cat and a dog.
Twenty-one-year-old Cem Basoflas received the sentence Friday in Douglas County for two counts of animal abuse.
He pleaded guilty in April to severely injuring a cat in August and torturing and killing a dog in February.
Prosecutors said he will remain in jail until immigration authorities take custody of him.
A judge also sentenced Basoflas to 30 days, which he already has served, fined him $1,000 and ordered him to pay a total of $4,873 restitution to the Lawrence Humane Society and a veterinarian. | Source: KFSM - May 8, 2009
Update posted on May 8, 2009 - 10:16PM |
A former KU student is serving time in the Douglas County Jail and faces deportation after entering a plea agreement for two counts of felony animal cruelty during a preliminary hearing Monday, April 6, 2009.
Cem Basoflas, 21, of Istanbul, Turkey, pleaded guilty to severely injuring a cat in August 2008 and killing a dog in February. As part of the agreement, his bond was revoked and he was taken into custody immediately following his hearing to serve 30 days before his sentencing May 8.
The maximum sentence for the charges is one year in jail. The minimum is 30 days.
Under the agreement, Basoflas will pay a $500 fine for each count and undergo a psychological evaluation while in custody.
Basoflas' lawyer, Sarah Swain, presented the plea agreement and said Basoflas also agreed to pay $1,000 to the Lawrence Humane Society to help pay for investigation costs related to his offenses.
Swain recommended that, following his sentencing, Basoflas be turned over to immigration officials for deportation to Turkey.
Basoflas had been studying for an undergraduate degree in physics on a student visa before his arrest. His felony conviction Monday nullified his student visa.
"The best outcome for this case was to get Mr. Basoflas back to Turkey," Swain said. "It seems a waste of taxpayers' money to have him sit in jail or be on probation here."
Basoflas was arrested on suspicion of animal cruelty Feb. 4 after employees of his apartment complex found a large amount of blood and other evidence within his apartment.
Midge Grinstead, Lawrence Humane Society director, said she had mixed feelings about the plea agreement. Grinstead said she was pleased that Basoflas pleaded guilty, but wished more information about the state's evidence against Basoflas had come out. She also said she hoped that Basoflas' jail time would be extended at his sentencing, saying 30 days was "not enough."
"To me, it isn't justice," Grinstead said. | Source: Kansan.Com - April 6, 2009
Update posted on Apr 27, 2009 - 1:57AM |
A Kansas University student facing felony animal cruelty charges asked to waive his right to a preliminary hearing Tuesday in Douglas County District Court.
But prosecutors insisted on evidence in the case being heard. Cem Basoflas, 20, of Instanbul, Turkey, is charged with animal cruelty in two separate cases.
The KU sophomore was arrested Feb. 4 at his apartment in the 2100 block of Heatherwood Drive, after police officers found a large amount of blood.
Lawrence police have released few details about the cases, but Lawrence Humane Society director Midge Grinstead said they are among the worst instances of animal cruelty her staff has ever seen.
Basoflas appeared with his attorney before Judge Robert Fairchild Tuesday afternoon.
At the request of the state, the judge set a preliminary hearing for April 6.
Basoflas remains out of jail, after posting $12,000 bond.
He had been ordered to surrender his passport and have no contact with animals. | Source: LJWorld.com - Feb 24, 2009
Update posted on Feb 26, 2009 - 4:15PM |
A KU student charged with two counts of felony animal cruelty was released on bond from the Douglas County Jail on Monday afternoon as Lawrence police officers continued to investigate an alleged pattern of abusive behavior from the suspect in the case.
Cem Basoflas, identified on a Web site about him as an Istanbul, Turkey, sophomore, was released about 3 p.m. The release came with the stipulations that he have no contact with or possession of any animal and that he surrender his passport, as set by Pro Tem Judge James George at Basoflas' first appearance hearing on Friday.
Basoflas was arrested Wednesday afternoon after maintenance crews found a large quantity of blood in his apartment in the 2100 block of Heatherwood Drive, Sgt. Bill Cory, Lawrence Police public information officer, said Thursday.
A representative of the District Attorney's office said Monday that more charges might be filed as the investigation continued. David Melton, the assistant district attorney prosecuting the case, said on Friday that the state intended to prove "extreme violence" against multiple animals.
Basoflas has another pending animal cruelty charge stemming from an arrest on Aug. 19. Police records for that incident listed Sarah Geisler, a nurse with the Lawrence Veterinary Hospital, as a witness.
Geisler said the August police report was filed after Basoflas brought a cat into the hospital. Geisler said veterinary technicians found that the cat had nine fractured ribs and a fractured sternum and was struggling to breathe because of a punctured lung. Geisler described the incident as the worst case of animal cruelty she had ever seen.
The cat is now living at the Lawrence Veterinary Hospital, Geisler said.
Midge Grinstead, director of the Lawrence Humane Society, said the humane society had investigated Basoflas before the August incident but did not have enough evidence to bring its suspicions of abuse to the police.
Grinstead said the humane society was involved in the current investigation and thought Basoflas had exhibited a pattern of abusive behavior.
Grinstead said she thought Basoflas obtained the animal or animals involved in the alleged cruelty incidents through Web sites such as Craigslist and Larryville.com.
Aaron Weatherby, an upstairs neighbor to the apartment at which police arrested Basoflas, said he had noticed a foul odor in the apartment building for about six months. Weatherby said the smell was "like a dead rat."
Another neighbor, Anthony Fowler, said he never noticed an odor. Fowler said that he had heard a dog barking from Basoflas' apartment Tuesday night and that he knocked on Basoflas' door but there was no answer. Fowler said he thought Basoflas had owned the dog for only about a week before Wednesday's arrest.
A representative of Peppertree's management said there had been no complaints concerning Basoflas before his arrest. The management also said it had a rigorous screening process for residents that included criminal background checks.
Basoflas has been registered as a student at the University since January 2008 and was listed as having the intention to major in physics. He was registered as a student at Fort Hays State University from August 2006 to December 2007.
While at Fort Hays, Basoflas was involved with the Model United Nations Club. Jason Weaver, the president of the club at the time, said Basoflas was eager to contribute to the club's research and was always studious and friendly.
"He was really cool when I got to know him," Weaver said.
The club was assigned Turkey as its country of focus in competition during the time Basoflas was involved, and Weaver said Basoflas contributed positively to the group's activity by sharing his perspective as a Turkish national on cultural and political issues. Weaver said the only other interest he knew Basoflas had was in computers.
Jade Linton, another Fort Hays student involved in Model UN with Weaver and Basoflas, said Basoflas was eager to learn and to help the group. Linton said she was surprised by the allegations because she didn't think the alleged incident fit Basoflas' "sweet demeanor."
Linton said that Basoflas seemed upset and apologetic about leaving Hays for Lawrence at the final Model UN meeting, but that the level of his distress seemed slightly off with the actual relationship between the club's members,
"He was very sad about leaving and very 'we can still be friends' about leaving, but I didn't really know why - the club wasn't very tight-knit," Linton said.
Some of Basoflas' neighbors in Lawrence's Peppertree Apartment Complex near 23rd and Kasold streets said they did not see Basoflas often and that when they did, he kept to himself, talking only on occasion.
Police officers are still investigating and have not yet released any details about evidence involved in the case beyond that the second charge involved one dog, which is now dead.
Basoflas' next court appearance is set for 2 p.m., Feb. 24. | Source: The University Daily Kansan - Feb 10, 2009
Update posted on Feb 9, 2009 - 11:37PM |
A KU student charged with one count of felony animal cruelty remained in custody at the Douglas County Jail Sunday evening.
At the first appearance hearing for Cem Basoflas, Turkey sophomore, on Friday, Pro Tem Judge James George set bond at $12,000 with the stipulation that, if released, Basoflas would not be allowed to have any contact with any animal and would have to surrender his passport. As of 11:05 p.m. Sunday, no one had posted Basoflas' bond.
Basoflas was arrested Wednesday afternoon after maintenance crews found a large quantity of blood in his apartment in the 2100 block of Heatherwood Drive, Sgt. Bill Cory, Lawrence Police public information officer, said on Thursday.
Lawrence Police said the alleged incident involved one dog, which is now dead. Cory said on Friday that the investigation was ongoing and that officers would continue to look for evidence at the scene of the arrest.
Basoflas has another pending animal cruelty charge stemming from an arrest on Aug. 19, 2008. According to court records, he failed to appear at the case's first hearing.
The court date for both charges has been set for Feb. 24 at 2 p.m.
Basoflas' defense attorney, Sarah Swain, was retained in August following the first charge.
More charges may be filed against Basoflas in the next week depending on the results of the investigation, according to a Friday press release from Charles Branson, Douglas County district attorney. | | Update posted on Feb 9, 2009 - 3:54PM |
Douglas County District Attorney Charles Branson announced today that Mr. Cem Basoflas, 20, was charged with one count of cruelty to animals.
The Lawrence Police Department arrested Basoflas after being called to the 2100 block of Heatherwood Drive regarding suspicious activity.
The Lawrence Police continue their investigation and it is possible additional charges may be filed.
Branson advised, "This is a very serious case and we will be proceeding as such."
The Court set Basoflas' bond at $12,000 cash or surety and if he does bond out, he is required to surrender his passport to Douglas County Court Services.
He will have his next court appearance in the Division One Courtroom of the The Honorable Robert W. Fairchild on February 24th at 2:00 p.m.
The charge listed is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty | Source: Douglas County Press Release - Feb 6, 2009
Update posted on Feb 9, 2009 - 3:17PM |
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