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Case #15929 Rating: 2.0 out of 5
Attempted kitten drowning
Encinitas, CA (US)Incident Date: Thursday, Sep 3, 2009
County: San Diego
Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Convicted
Case Images: 1 files available
Defendant/Suspect: Hubert Hoffman
Case Updates: 2 update(s) available
Mimi Cole was enjoying a quiet afternoon at Moonlight Beach with her family when she heard little girls shrieking: “You're going to drown it! You're going to drown it!”
Leaping to her feet, she saw that the children were pleading with a man as he pushed a kitten under the water and held it down with a piece of cloth. The animal scratched at the man's arms, trying to escape. Cole tried to persuade the man to stop, but she remembers him saying, “She loves to swim; mind your own business.”
Cole ran to the lifeguard tower and asked someone to call 911.
Now, Hubert Hoffman, 69, has pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor animal cruelty in a case that has shocked this coastal community.
The incident happened about 4:30 p.m. Sept. 3.
Hoffman controlled the cat with a choke-chain collar -- the kind used for training dogs -- attached to a tree branch.
A crowd gathered around the man and prevented him from leaving the beach as they waited for sheriff's deputies to arrive, witnesses. Deputies arrested Hoffman and took custody of the cat.
“When we arrived on scene, he was already out of the water,” said Larry Giles, the lifeguard captain for Encinitas. “His story was that he was just trying to give his cat a bath.”
Residents said Hoffman appears to be homeless and is often seen around Cardiff wearing dirty clothing.
Cole, a Cardiff resident, has created a Web site, savemoonlightkitten.com , to document the case. “I couldn't sleep for two weeks,” she said. “I've gotten hundreds of e-mails.”
Hoping to keep prosecutors focused on the case, Cole and others inundated the District Attorney's Office with e-mails, faxes and calls. They contacted rescue and advocacy organizations and enlisted the help of the Animal Legal Defense Fund, which offered its services to prosecutors.
The kitten is in protective custody with a foster family, who had to sign a confidentiality agreement.
Hoffman was arraigned last week in Vista Superior Court on one misdemeanor charge of inhumane treatment of an animal. His next court date is a pretrial hearing set for Oct. 13. A trial is scheduled for Nov. 3.
Hoffman could not be reached for comment, and officials at the county Public Defender's Office did not return calls. Hoffman used to live at a San Diego group home affiliated with the correctional system, but a person answering the phone said he no longer lives there.
Cole said she and others will continue advocating on behalf of the kitten �" even though she said the DA's office has asked that they stop calling and faxing.
The deputy district attorney handling the case could not be reached for comment.
“I know there's much more important things going on in the DA's office, and I'm sorry I've caused them so much trouble,” Cole said. “I just don't want him to ever get the cat back.”
Case UpdatesA 69-year-old man who was seen pushing his kitten underwater at Moonlight Beach in Encinitas pleaded guilty Tuesday to misdemeanor animal abuse and was sentenced to three years probation.
Hubert Hoffman was also ordered to undergo psychological counseling and forfeit the kitten so it can be adopted.
Hoffman pleaded guilty on the day his case was to go to trial at the Vista Courthouse. As part of his probation, the defendant is not to own or possess any animal, according to Judge Daniel Goldstein.
Witnesses to the Sept. 3 incident said Hoffman controlled the kitten with a choke-chain collar and told shocked onlookers that the cat loved to swim and to "mind their own business."
A crowd prevented Hoffman from leaving the beach, and he was arrested by sheriff's deputies.
A lifeguard captain said Hoffman told him that he was trying to give his cat a bath.
Residents told authorities the defendant was often seen around Cardiff wearing dirty clothing and appeared to be homeless. | Source: 10 News - Nov 3, 2009
Update posted on Nov 9, 2009 - 4:32AM |
A 69-year-old man accused of trying to drown a kitten at Moonlight Beach was scheduled to appear in a Vista courtroom Tuesday to stand trial on an animal cruelty charge.
Hubert Hoffman is charged with misdemeanor animal cruelty in connection with an incident that occurred at the Encinitas beach on Sept. 3.
Hoffman allegedly pushed a kitten under the water and held it down with a piece of cloth, prompting the kitten to scratch away at the defendant’s arm.
He reportedly told onlookers who tried to intervene, “She loves to swim; mind your own business.”
Someone called 911 as a crowd gathered around Hoffman, preventing him from leaving until sheriff’s deputies arrived and took him into custody, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
“His story was that he was just trying to give his cat a bath,” Encinitas lifeguard captain Larry Giles told the newspaper.
A Web site was created to advocate for the kitten, www.savemoonlightkitten.com. The site encouraged residents to ask the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office to prosecute Hoffman.
Read more: http://www.sdnn.com/sandiego/2009-11-03/local-county-news/man-accused-of-trying-to-drown-kitten-appears-in-court#ixzz0WMCWnqNd | Source: San Diego News Network - Nov 3, 2009
Update posted on Nov 9, 2009 - 4:32AM |
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