Three cats suffocated
Colorado Springs, CO (US)

Incident Date: Monday, Mar 14, 2011
County: El Paso

Disposition: Alleged

Alleged: David Leisge

A Colorado Springs mobile home park employee could face animal cruelty charges after telling police Monday that he intentionally suffocated three cats in a plastic bag, authorities said.

David Leisge, 66, told authorities he was combating a stray cat problem at La Cresta Mobile Estates, 205 N. Murray Blvd., where Colorado Springs police say he works as a maintenance man.

But the means he apparently used -- placing them in a plastic bag into which he sprayed the solvent ether -- could lead to serious felony charge, said Joe Stafford of the Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region.

"There's no question that they suffered," Stafford said.

Stafford said one of the cats was a pet, with a collar and a tag, raising the possible charge of aggravated animal cruelty, which applies only to pets, not wild animals. The felony is punishable by up to 18 months in prison.

Leisge could not be reached for comment Monday evening, and a representative of La Cresta Mobile Estates didn't return a page.

Animal control officers were responding to a complaint of suspicious activity Monday when they found the dead cats in a trash receptacle, along with two canisters of ether, which is used in starter fluids and commercial cleaners.

Leisge allegedly told investigators he learned the method from a Division of Wildlife employee and used it to kill other unwanted animals that he trapped on the grounds, such as raccoons and skunks, police spokesman Sgt. Steve Noblitt said.

Leisge told officers that he killed at least six other cats in the past, Noblitt said.

"I find it hard to believe that anyone would think that is OK," said Stafford, who supervises the Humane Society's animal control officers.

Leisge was detained and questioned at the police Sand Creek substation, 4125 Center Park Drive, on Wednesday.

He was released, without charges, pending a review by the 4th Judicial District Attorney's Office, authorities said.

The Humane Society traps and neuters feral cats under a program it launched a year ago to control the wild cat population.

Since then, it has vaccinated and spayed or neutered 945 feral cats, including 27 from La Cresta Mobile Estates, according to figures from the Humane Society.

References

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