Pet-Abuse.Com - Animal Abuse Case Details: Cat shot

Cat shot
Carmel, NY (US)

Incident Date: Monday, Oct 31, 2005
County: Putnam
Local Map: available
Disposition: Alleged

Alleged: Jason J. Kinash

Case Updates: 2 update(s) available

Case ID: 7133

Classification: Shooting

Animal: cat

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Animal was offleash or loose

A warm November Sunday started off like any other day for Leo. The gray tabby cat wandered out the back door of his Kent home to the acres of woods spread before him and, one could imagine, a host of feline activities on his to-do list.

"By 9 a.m., he didn't come home like he usually does," owner Richard Quaglietta said. "I figured he was still out playing."

Chances are, according to authorities, the cat was suffering from a gunshot that punctured both lungs. The sad tale would have apparently remained unknown � Leo couldn't explain � except for some talk in a local tattoo shop.

But that would come later � after Quaglietta and his wife, Cathy, found their cat about 11 that night.

"He came out of the bushes. He had holes through him and he was bleeding profusely," Quaglietta, 44, who owns a commercial refrigeration and air-conditioning business, said yesterday.

The couple scooped up the 1-year-old cat and rushed it to an emergency veterinary service in Bedford. Later that Monday, Leo headed to the South Wilton Veterinary Group in Connecticut, the practice where Quaglietta takes his other pets � parrots.

X-rays and emergency surgery followed, for Leo was in shock and having difficulty breathing. That led to an eight-day stay and a $3,000 vet bill.

Back in Putnam County the next day, Cathy Quaglietta's brother (and Leo's "uncle") saw the couple's neighbor walk into his tattoo and body-piercing shop in Mahopac. Based on their history of disputes, he decided to talk to the neighbor about the cat.

"I know who he is. I know he lives next door to my sister. I heard that their cat got shot," said Joe Belle, who owns Iron Butterfly Tattoo on Route 6. "So when he walked into my shop, I asked him, 'Did you shoot a cat the other day?' He said, 'Yeah.' "

A Putnam County sheriff's deputy arrested Jason Kinash, 28, of Dixon Road on Jan. 20. He was charged with animal cruelty, a misdemeanor, for shooting the animal with a .22-caliber rifle and released without bail.

Attempts to reach Kinash yesterday were unsuccessful. He is due in Kent Town Court Feb. 23.

Leo recovered and went back to the home that has now been lucky for him twice. "He showed up on my doorstep one day and my wife just adopted him," Quaglietta said.

Case Updates

Jason Kinash, a 29-year-old man accused of shooting his neighbor's cat last year, shows "excellent judgment" and "exercises foresight," according to a psychological evaluation presented yesterday in Town Court by special prosecutor Vincent Gelardi.

"He is, in essence, a mentally and emotionally stable person," Gelardi read from the report.

Kinash stood next to his lawyer, Robert Leader of Carmel, as the prosecutor read the report to Town Justice J. Peter Collins.

Kinash was arrested in January after an investigation by the Putnam County Sheriff's Office into the November shooting of Leo, a gray tabby owned by Richard and Cathy Quaglietta. The cat was shot with a .22-caliber bullet that punctured his lungs.

The feline survived after an eight-day hospital stay.

Kinash, initially charged with misdemeanor animal cruelty, saw the charge upgraded in April to a felony. But yesterday, Gelardi said he was willing to let Kinash plead guilty to the misdemeanor.

In return, he would face one year of interim probation and have to complete 300 hours of community service benefiting animals. He would not be allowed to possess any weapons or hunt for three years. If he complies with all the requirements, Gelardi said, at the end of the first year, he could withdraw the misdemeanor guilty plea and plead to two counts of disorderly conduct, a violation.

The outcome of the case remained unresolved, however, while the cat's owner, a sheriff's deputy and Gelardi debated the prosecutor's handling of the matter.

Richard Quaglietta, the owner, said the proposed plea deal was too lenient.

"I understand their emotions and feelings," Gelardi said. "But this is a fair disposition."

Quaglietta and Barbara Dunn, the sheriff's deputy who handles Putnam animal-abuse cases and who is president of the county Humane Society, maintained Gelardi was ignoring past instances of animal cruelty by Kinash.

Quaglietta added that the matter was about more than animal cruelty.

"This is about discharging his weapon in a reckless manner," he told the court.

Quaglietta tried to have Gelardi dismissed from the case, but Collins denied that request. After about 20 minutes of Dunn, Quaglietta and Gelardi offer differing interpretations of the investigation, the justice adjourned the matter until Oct. 2.

Collins ordered Dunn and the Sheriff's Department to turn over any reports and other information to Gelardi regarding the past incidents.

Outside the courtroom, Kinash's attorney said the offer by Gelardi was "fair and reasonable." He dismissed the claims made about Kinash's past, including accusations that he had shot more than a dozen cats and a beagle.

"It's terrible they should have made those comments," said Leader, who didn't have to utter one word during the proceeding. "They're absolutely untrue."

Should Kinash accept the plea agreement, he also would have to repay the Quagliettas $3,472 for the cat's medical bills. Under a court order of protection, Kinash would be forced to stay away from the Quagliettas.

Afterward, Gelardi said he had considered everything before he formulated the plea offer, including Kinash's "propensity to repeat the crime."

"If there were any other crimes that have been committed, it would be up to the sheriff to file charges," Gelardi said. "It's a matter, again, of weighing all of the facts before me that I make a decision on."

Source: The Journal News - Sept 12, 2006
Update posted on Nov 7, 2006 - 11:47AM

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A misdemeanor animal-cruelty charge against a town man accused of shooting his neighbor's cat has been upgraded to a felony.
Jason Kinash, 28, was arrested after an investigation by the Putnam County Sheriff's Office of the November 2005 shooting of a gray cat owned by Richard and Cathy Quaglietta of Kent. The cat, a 1-year-old gray male named Leo, was shot with a .22-caliber bullet that punctured his lungs.

Leo survived � after an eight-day hospital stay and a $3,000 vet bill.

Kinash appeared April 3, 2006 in Kent Justice Court, where Assistant District Attorney Mary Jane MacCrae told Justice Peter Collins that the office had decided to charge him with felony animal cruelty. MacCrae said the decision to upgrade the charge was made after a review of the state's Agriculture and Marketing Laws, which govern animal cruelty.

Kinash, who remains free without bail, is due in court May 1, 2006. A message left with his attorney, Robert Leader of Carmel, was not immediately returned. Meanwhile, Richard Quaglietta said he was pleased that the district attorney opted for the felony charge.
"I think that's wonderful," he said yesterday. "I don't have children, so my animals are like kids to me."

Source: The Journal News - April 5, 2006
Update posted on Apr 5, 2006 - 8:47PM

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The Journal News - Jan 31, 2006

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Cat shotCarmel, NY (US)

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Cat shot
Carmel, NY (US)