Cat sexually assaulted, thrown out 7th floor window - Council Bluffs, IA

Wednesday, Aug 3, 2011

County: Pottawattamie

Disposition: Convicted

Defendant/Suspect: Gerardo Martinez

Case Updates: 1 update(s) available

A Council Bluffs man faces several charges after witnesses told police he threw a cat from a seventh-floor apartment window with his pants down.

On Wednesday morning, officers were called to 455 W. Broadway for a report of someone tossing a cat from an apartment and exposing himself. According to the police report, officers found a gray cat, which later died, bleeding and barely breathing near the sidewalk.

Witnesses told police they saw a man expose himself from the seventh floor of an apartment building across the street. They told police he then threw the cat out the window.

Officers identified the apartment from which the witnesses said the cat was thrown and made contact with a man inside.

The 29-year-old man, identified as Gerardo Martinez, answered the door shirtless with his pants down, the police report said. Officers asked him to pull his pants up and asked him about the cat.

Martinez, who admitted to using meth, first denied having a cat, police said. Later, he changed his story and told police his boyfriend threw the cat from the window three hours prior, police said.

When police told Martinez that witnesses said the cat was thrown more recently, he said he attempted to have sex with the cat and then threw it out the window, along with a pornographic DVD, police said.

Police arrested Martinez and witnesses identified him as the man from the window.

Martinez -- who turned 30 on Thursday -- has been charged with animal torture, bestiality and indecent exposure, according to the Pottawattamie County attorney.

He's being held in the Pottawattamie County Jail and faces up to five years in jail if convicted.

Case Updates

A 29-year-old sex offender is headed to prison after killing a cat by throwing it out of a seventh story window. Gerardo Martinez was arrested after he told officers he used meth, performed a sex act on his cat, and threw it from his apartment window. A judge sentenced him to two years in prison for animal torture but dismissed the bestiality charge. He was also ordered to pay a $625 fine. On August 3rd, police found the dead cat on the sidewalk outside the apartment building at 455 West Broadway, and tracked down the man because his window was still open. Martinez was naked and admitted to police that he used meth and had sexual contact with the cat. Martinez was arrested for bestiality, cruelty to animals, and indecent exposure. Prosecutors did not file indecent exposure charges in the case. He is a registered sex offender in Iowa and has an extensive history of arrests, including third degree sexual assault, burglary, theft, harassment, public intoxication, and possession of a controlled substance. He also pleaded guilty to a sex offender registry violation. At the time of Martinez's arrest at 405 W. Broadway, his address on the registry was listed on North 32nd Street. For the sex offender registry violation, Martinez was given a five-year suspended prison sentence, two years of probation and a $750 fine.

Source: kmtv.com - Sep 21, 2011 Update posted on Sep 26, 2011 - 12:55PM

References

« More cases in Pottawattamie County, IA

Note: Classifications and other fields should not be used to determine what specific charges the suspect is facing or was convicted of - they are for research and statistical purposes only. The case report and subsequent updates outline the specific charges. Charges referenced in the original case report may be modified throughout the course of the investigation or trial, so case updates, when available, should always be considered the most accurate reflection of charges.

For more information regarding classifications and usage of this database, please visit the database notes and disclaimer.