Hoarding - 40 cats neglected in trailer
San Jose, CA (US)Incident Date: Wednesday, Mar 27, 2002
County: Santa Clara
Disposition: Convicted
Defendant/Suspect: Payam Ghaderi
"They killed my cats," lamented Payam Ghaderi, to the jury as it left the courtroom earlier this week to deliberate in the trial involving his living with 40 cats inside a trailer in San Jose.
What should have been a simple animal cruelty case had expanded into a major cat fight involving seven felonies, four misdemeanors, a $700,000 bail and a possible six-year prison sentence.
"He yelled it out to us," said jury foreman Michael Kane of Ghaderi's improper outburst in Santa Clara County Superior Court. "But it didn't have an effect on the extremely controlled way we proceeded in our deliberation."
On Thursday, that meticulous process resulted in Ghaderi, 41, being convicted on five animal cruelty counts, but acquitted on two felony counts of making criminal threats to those who clashed with him about the cats.
"The threat charges provided the most difficult deliberations we had," said Kane about the case that began in July 2000. "There was just a lack of other independent corroborating evidence to prove those charges."
Ghaderi was also found guilty on two misdemeanor charges of resisting arrest, when confronted about the trailer that emitted a "horrific stench of urine and feces," and of another misdemeanor charge of violating a contempt of court order.
"I'm satisfied that he was cleared on the most serious felony charges," said defense attorney Leonard Cravens.
At sentencing on May 17, Cravens will ask that the animal cruelty charges be reduced to misdemeanors. "This man was not cruel to his cats," said the attorney. "This is not Leo the dog," he said, referring to a bichon frise that was thrown to its death by a man in a fit of road rage. "This is just something that got out of hand."
Calling Thursday from county jail in Santa Clara, Ghaderi faulted his attorney for letting Judge Jerome E. Brock limit his witnesses and evidence. He said he declined several plea bargain offers because he wanted his day in court. He intends to appeal this case and represent himself.
"I don't know what chance I have to win," said Ghaderi, who has been locked up for 21 months, including five in Napa State Hospital.
The case blew into a major conflict, said prosecutors, because of Ghaderi's emotional responses toward his family, police and animal control officials who confronted him about the 40 cats.
"What's ironic is that he was willing to go to any length to protect his cats from something bad happening to them," said juror Elbert Turner, 69. "But something bad did happen," he said, referring to the euthanizing of the cats by the Humane Society.
Ghaderi noted: "I didn't say anything because I've lost my cats, and it's like I lost my children. I don't care anymore about anything. I just wanted people to know what really happened."
In addition to animal cruelty, Ghaderi is charged with resisting arrest, violating a restraining order and making criminal threats.
Ghaderi had been declared mentally incompetent earlier in the case and confined to a state mental institution. Prosecutors say he's taking medication for his condition.
Prosecutor Roxy Hariri called the situation a stupid little case that has been blown out of proportion by Ghaderi's failure to cooperate.
References« CA State Animal Cruelty Map
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