Cat doused with lighter fluid, set on fire - Brooklyn, NY

Tuesday, Oct 7, 2008

County: Kings

Charges: Felony CTA, Felony Non-CTA
Disposition: Convicted

Defendants/Suspects:
» Angelo Monderoy
» Matthew Cooper

Case Updates: 4 update(s) available

Two teenagers could spend 25 years in prison for allegedly torturing and killing a cat they set on fire when they broke into an apartment in New York City.

Angelo Monderoy, 18, and Matthew Cooper, 17, allegedly broke into a vacant apartment in Brooklyn, N.Y., on or around Oct. 7, 2008. Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes said the pair held the cat down as they poured charcoal lighter fluid on it.

Hynes said they then set the animal on fire, causing deep wounds and fourth-degree burns. The blaze also damaged the building, which has other units that are occupied.

The cat was found outside, unable to move and crying but still alive, the district attorney said.

It was euthanized at a local animal hospital.

The ASPCA launched an extensive investigation leading to the capture of Monderoy and Cooper, who were indicted this week in Brooklyn, according to the district attorney.

They face charges of second-degree arson, second-degree burglary and aggravated animal cruelty and could spend up to 25 years in prison if convicted.

Cooper also was recently charged with burglary and assault in an unrelated incident in the same building in which he and another defendant are charged with breaking into an apartment and beating the sleeping tenant with a cane while they demanded money.

Case Updates

A cat killer convicted using DNA evidence was slapped with a six-year sentence Wednesday - and will likely soon be deported. The Brooklyn judge lashed into Trinidadian immigrant Angelo Monderoy, who said he torched his super's beloved tabby, Tommy Two Times, out of boredom. "To torture and kill an animal because you were bored?" Justice Michael Gary asked in bitter bewilderment. "There's no way the world should not know what Mr. Monderoy did here." A jury found that Monderoy and his friend grabbed Tommy Two Times, took him to an abandoned apartment in their Crown heights tenement, doused him with lighter fluid and lit him afire in the 2008 attack. "This was not a whim, not a fleeting decision in a teenager's mind," said prosecutor Josh Charlton. The guilty verdict in March marked the first time DNA evidence led to a conviction in an animal abuse case in the history of the state and possibly the nation - Tommy was found badly burned outside the tenement and investigators were able to trace the crime back to Monderoy's lair. That evidence also helped bring more serious burglary charges, for which Monderoy, 20, got two to six years upstate. He also received the max of two years for aggravated animal abuse and up to four years for arson, all running concurrently. Because he's been jailed for more than two years awaiting trial, he's already eligible for parole, but will likely face deportation once out of prison, officials said. Monderoy's defense lawyer had asked that he be treated as a youthful offender and that the the court seal his record. Gary refused - even after Monderoy apologized. "I'd like to say I'm sorry for what happened," Monderoy told the judge. "What I did was wrong."

Source: nydailynews.com - May 25, 2011 Update posted on May 26, 2011 - 6:48PM

On March 8, two Humane Law Enforcement (HLE) cases resulted in landmark felony convictions -- thanks in large part to DNA evidence. The ASPCA first performed DNA analysis related to an animal cruelty case in September 2008, but these recent cases are the first in which DNA has been entered as evidence during trial. Dr. Robert Reisman, Medical Coordinator of Animal Cruelty Cases at the ASPCA's Bergh Memorial Animal Hospital, hailed the March verdicts as groundbreaking. "DNA analysis is pretty sophisticated science at this point," says Dr. Reisman, who testified and conducted the forensic investigation in both cases, "and it's very powerful evidence for a juror to hear." The cases also shine a light on HLE Agents' resourcefulness and dedication, say both Dr. Reisman and HLE Assistant Director Joseph Pentangelo, who credited the Agents for "making good use of the newest tools to fight animal cruelty." The first conviction was for a 2008 incident in which a cat was doused with lighter fluid and set on fire. While investigating a Brooklyn building where the cat spent time, Special Agent Adam Gankiewicz found a vacant room with charred tile flooring--and in that room was a piece of what appeared to be skin. DNA testing, performed at the Veterinary Genetics Laboratory at the University of California Davis Veterinary School, showed that the tissue matched that of the feline victim, establishing the crime scene. Based on this evidence, the perpetrator, 20-year-old Angelo Monderoy, was convicted of aggravated animal cruelty (and also of arson and burglary). He faces three to 15 years in prison and possible deportation to his native Trinidad. DNA also identified the umbrella that Lordtyshon Garrett of Manhattan used in 2009 to beat a cat, who sustained a punctured lung and ultimately died. Special Agent Deborah Ryan had saliva from the umbrella matched to the DNA of the victim, which, along with Dr. Reisman's testimony that the bite marks on the umbrella were defensive, helped clinch the case. Garrett, 33, was found guilty of aggravated cruelty, animal cruelty and criminal mischief and faces up to two years in prison. "These cases pave the way for others in New York," Dr. Reisman says, noting that two more DNA-supported animal cruelty trials are pending. "They could set precedent for other states as well."

Source: ASPCA - April 1, 2010 Update posted on Apr 1, 2011 - 9:42AM

The trial of Angelo Monderoy, who is charged with aggravated cruelty to animals for allegedly setting a cat on fire for no apparent reason, is wrapping up today before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Michael Gary. Jurors will likely begin deliberating Monderoy's fate this afternoon, after closings. Monderoy, 20, and his friend Matthew Cooper, 19, allegedly burned Tommy Two Times to a crisp in a bathtub in an empty Crown Heights apartment in October 2008. Tommy belonged to the superintendent of the building where the duo allegedly stepped on him, doused him with lighter fluid and set him ablaze. The super found Tommy clinging to life a day later. He was euthanized by veterinarians. According to a taped phone call from Rikers Island, when a friend asked Monderoy why they did it, he allegedly said, "We were bored." Cooper previously pleaded guilty to arson and accepted a seven-year sentence. Monderoy faces up to 25 years for charges of arson, burglary and animal cruelty.

Source: The Brooklyn Eagle - March 4, 2011 Update posted on Apr 1, 2011 - 9:33AM

An accused Brooklyn tabby torturer went on trial Tuesday for torching an innocent cat out of boredom. Angelo Monderoy, 20, left Tommy Two Times's fur and flesh so charred from four-degree burns that "it could barely move," Brooklyn prosecutor Josh Charlton told a rapt jury. Monderoy and his pal Matthew Cooper, 19, allegedly took the defenseless feline to an empty second-floor flat inside a Crown Heights tenement. "They stepped on it, they threw liquid on it and they lit it on fire," Charlton said. Tommy's owner, building super Charles Evans, found the mortally wounded feline a day later after it managed to wobble out of the flat. It was rushed to an animal hospital but had to be euthanized. Tommy "was warm and friendly," and became part of the super's "family" of felines. "He was his buddy," the prosecutor said. A DNA sample of ashen flesh taken from the apartment's floor was a match to Tommy's blood. Monderoy's backpack, containing lighter fluid, was found on the building's roof and he admitted his involvement to investigators, Charlton said. He faces up to 25 years if convicted for arson, burglary and animal cruelty. The defense argued that Cooper, who pleaded guilty to arson and accepted a seven-year prison sentence in December, was solely responsible for the crime. Cooper is expected to take the stand later this week. "In essence, there's no forensic evidence linking my client to this case," defense attorney Ricardo Rodriguez told the jury. The prosecution said they will play damning recordings of phone conversations Monderoy made from jail. In one, a female friend asks why he did it. "I don't know," Charlton quoted Monderoy as answering. "We were bored."

Source: NY Daily News - March 1, 2011 Update posted on Apr 1, 2011 - 9:34AM

References

• « NY State Animal Cruelty Map
  « More cases in Kings County, NY

  Note: Classifications and other fields should not be used to determine what specific charges the suspect is facing or was convicted of - they are for research and statistical purposes only. The case report and subsequent updates outline the specific charges. Charges referenced in the original case report may be modified throughout the course of the investigation or trial, so case updates, when available, should always be considered the most accurate reflection of charges.
  
  For more information regarding classifications and usage of this database, please visit the database notes and disclaimer.