Live kittens thrown into fire - Bloomfield, IN

Monday, Apr 12, 2010

County: Greene

Charges: Felony CTA
Disposition: Alleged

Alleged: Jesse James Day

A warrant was issued for the arrest of Jesse James Day after a charge of animal cruelty was filed against him in mid-April, four days after he allegedly threw several live kittens into a fire.

Day, 28, Bloomfield, was taken into custody Friday and has since appeared in Greene Superior Court and been charged with cruelty to an animal, a class D felony, and battery resulting in bodily injury, a class A misdemeanor.

The incident took place on April 12 at a rural Bloomfield residence.

The next day, a woman who said she was in a dating relationship with Day reported it to police and Det. George Dallaire of the Greene County Sheriff's Department investigated.

According to a probable cause affidavit signed by Dallaire, the woman said Day had moved out of the residence, had come back to visit and wanted to get some clothes he had left behind when he moved out. But she had hid the clothes because she didn't want him to leave, then they got into an argument, and he accused her of throwing his clothes into a brush pile they were burning.

Day allegedly threw the woman to the ground at least twice and then threw her into the side of the house with enough force to dent metal siding.

Day is accused of then grabbing a yellow plastic crate containing five kittens from the woman's front porch, walking over to the burning brush pile and dumping all five kittens into the fire and hot coals.

The woman said she rushed to the fire and was able to pull four of the kittens out but one was burning too badly for her to get it out.

The detective also interviewed the woman's female roommate who was at home and witnessed the incident.

Dallaire wrote in the affidavit, "A reasonable person would consider throwing any living creature into a fire, or bed of hot coals, torture. The kittens (the woman) saved from the fire had hair burnt off their bodies and possibly other injuries. Three of the kittens died as a result of the burns."

Day is being held on $5,000 bond in accordance with the standard bond schedule.

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