| Case ID: 19704 |
| Classification: Hoarding, Neglect / Abandonment |
| Animal: cat, dog (non pit-bull), dog (pit-bull), reptile, rodent/small mammal (pet) |
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Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: Steven C. Hart
A man who had nearly 70 animals living together with him in a Phoenix apartment has been charged with seven counts of animal cruelty, all misdemeanors.
Phoenix police say Steven C. Hart, 24, of Shants Road, Jordan, had a Great Dane, Bernese mountain dog, two Australian cattle dogs, a red-nosed pit bull, seven cats, 30 ferrets, four chinchillas, one red-tailed boat snake, two ball pythons, a coastal carpet python, two iguanas, one armadillo lizard, two bearded dragons, one macaw, two prairie dogs, two squirrels, one red-footed tortoise, one leopard tortoise, one gecko, one tegu, one chameleon and two hedgehogs living in an apartment at 86 Cherry St., Phoenix.
Police said there also were several rabbits, rats and mice in the apartment that were being raised for feeding.
Hart used to live in the Phoenix apartment but then moved to the Jordan address, police said.
Police investigated after a village resident went to the apartment to remove several aquariums from the front porch. Police said the person found a dead animal inside the tank of one aquarium.
Police came to the site and discovered five dead exotic animals packed in plastic garbage bags on the porch and several other animal bodies were found in a second-floor bedroom. Police also said the apartment was filled with trash and animal feces and they found some of the animals had tried to burrow through a wall into the apartment next door.
The police investigation found that some of the animals died from neglect while others starved to death after Hart ran out of money for food.
Police said the Village Codes Enforcement Officer has since declared the apartment unfit for habitation.
The case is being investigated by Phoenix Police officers Edward Cox and Michael Rathbun. The investigation is ongoing and additional arrests are possible.
Anyone with information should call Phoenix Police at 695-2001
Hart will be arraigned in Schroeppel Town Court June 13.
References
- Syracuse Post-Standard - May 29, 2012 YNN.Com - May 29, 2012
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