Posted on 04/16/2007 5:46:06 PM PDT by TFFKAMM
(04-16) 15:54 PDT Ocala, Fla. (AP) --
A man living in a home with a layer of animal feces between 2 and 3 inches deep and as many as 300 cats, both alive and dead, was arrested Friday, authorities said.
Jonathan Terpstra, 61, was charged with 55 counts of animal cruelty, two counts of tampering with evidence and one count of resisting without violence, the Ocala Star-Banner reported.
Authorities had to break some windows to ventilate the home. Oxygen levels inside the home were low and ammonia levels extremely high, said Lt. Ron Baroni, with Marion County Fire Rescue.
Animal feces also was backed up in corners and crevices, Baroni said.
One deputy told the paper that when he arrived at the home, there were vultures feeding on a cat carcass and more vultures on the rooftop.
Animal control officials removed at least 80 cats from the home by Friday evening, said Dennis Underwood, an animal control field supervisor with the county's Code Enforcement Department. The animals were being examined, Underwood said.
Terpstra was being held at the Marion County jail on $1,000 bond.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
What a sick and twisted person. Poor Kitties.
Bummer.
I can’t post this to the Crazy Cat Lady keyword... but here’s a link.
Scary stuff there.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=crazycatlady
I don't even want to know how he tampered with the evidence.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.