Cat beaten and kicked to death
Bronx, NY (US)Incident Date: Monday, Mar 21, 2005
County: Bronx
Disposition: Convicted
Defendant/Suspect: Edwin Aguirre
Case Updates: 1 update(s) available
A Bronx parolee was arrested March 26 for allegedly beating his neighbor's cat to death, authorities said. Edwin Aguirre, 21, kicked and stepped on his neighbor's cat outside their building at 852 E. 163rd St. on March 21, according to Joseph Pentangelo, a special agent with the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
The incident happened at 5 a.m., when neighbors reported seeing Aguirre violently attacking Smokey, a domestic shorthaired cat belonging to a second-floor tenant, according to law enforcement officials. The cat was squealing in pain, according to witness accounts.
The owner of the cat became concerned two days later about her missing pet, and began asking tenants if they had seen Smokey. One of the neighbors then told her about Aguirre, Pentangelo said, and she called the ASPCA.
By that time, the cat's body was gone. However, a construction worker told officials he saw a mutilated cat at that scene last week.
Saturday, officials arrested Aguirre at 8:30 a.m. at his building and charged him with aggravated animal cruelty, a felony crime punishable by up to 2 years in prison.
Aguirre is on parole until 2009 for felony drug possession, officials said.
Case UpdatesEdwin Aguirre, 21, was sentenced to a year in jail and ordered to stay away from all animals for five years after he pleaded guilty to beating his neighbor's cat to death.
Aguirre pleaded guilty Wednesday, April 20, 2005 to aggravated animal cruelty, a felony, according to Joseph Pentangelo, a special agent with the ASPCA.
Aguirre will be sentenced May 9.
Neighbors saw Aguirre violently attacking Smokey, a domestic shorthaired cat belonging to a second-floor tenant, law-enforcement officials said. The cat was shrieking in pain, witnesses said.
The owner became concerned two days later about her missing pet, and began askng tenants whether they had seen Smokey. One of the neighbors then told her about Aguirre, and she contacted the ASPCA, Pentangelo said.
By that time, the cat's body was gone, and a construction worker reported seeing a mutilated cat's body near the building. Aguirre was on parole until 2009 for felony drug possession, officials said.
"We hope this sentence is indicative of a sense that animal cruelty is being treated more seriously," Pentangelo said. | Source: New York Newsday - April 21, 2005
Update posted on Apr 23, 2005 - 10:13AM |
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