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Case #1972 Rating: 3.4 out of 5
Cat beaten with broomstick, resulting in death
Napa, CA (US)Incident Date: Thursday, May 31, 2001
County: Napa
Disposition: Convicted
Defendant/Suspect: Edward Harrington Williams
A Napa man convicted of felony cruelty to animals in 2001 is in hot water with law again. Edward Harrington Williams, 31, has been charged with felony auto theft, misdemeanor petty theft and disobeying a court order.
Williams made headlines in June 2001 when he was arrested for killing his neighbor's 16-year-old cat, Angel.
In November 2001, a jury found Williams guilty of hitting Angel with a broomstick. The cat was on the backyard fence Williams and his mother share with the cat's owner, Susan Davis.
The cat fell from the fence, went into convulsions and died.
At Williams' first sentencing in January 2002, Superior Court Judge Ray Guadagni ordered Williams to undergo a psychological evaluation at the California Department of Corrections at San Quentin State Prison.
Williams returned to Napa County and was sentenced in March 2002 to one year in county jail. However, Judge Guadagni give Williams the option to forego the jail sentence if he enrolled and successfully completed a drug abuse treatment program. Williams chose the latter.
Although at Williams' sentencing Judge Guadagni acknowledged the cruelty of Williams' act, he said there was no evidence suggesting Williams tortured Angel.
During the trial, both Williams and his mother, Charlene Williams, testified that their dog was trying to attack the cat, and Williams only tried to protect it by shooing it off the fence.
At the time of cat attack, Williams was on probation for a driving-under-the-influence conviction in 2000.
Williams has had a string of nine criminal convictions within a 10-year period.
On Oct. 29, 1991, Williams, then 19, was driving his 1983 Ford Thunderbird on Main Street between Napa and Vallejo streets.
Williams' car struck Bonnie Straus, 43, and her daughter Cassandra Sandwick, 12, as they crossed in the middle of Main Street on their way to a ceramics class, according to police reports.
Straus and Sandwick did not use the crosswalk. Straus was knocked to the ground, while the girl was carried on the hood of the vehicle for 50 to 75 feet before rolling off.
She was taken to Queen of the Valley Hospital with massive head injuries and died within a few days.
Straus remained in a coma, never regaining consciousness. She died in 1993 at a Napa rehabilitation center at the age of 45.
Because there was no alcohol involved or any evidence of gross negligence, Williams was charged with misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 30 days in county jail, three years probation and ordered to attend driving school.
Also in 1991, Williams was convicted of two counts of passing a stolen check with the intent to defraud.
In 1996, he was sentenced to 35 days in county jail for domestic violence. In addition to his 2000 DUI conviction, Williams has been cited for traffic offenses, according to court documents. References« CA State Animal Cruelty Map
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