Posted on 10/07/2003 7:40:52 PM PDT by Shermy
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Battered and bitten and facing seven years in prison, a man who made headlines for keeping a fierce tiger in his New York apartment says he still loves the beast and misses him terribly.
Arraigned on Tuesday in Manhattan Criminal Court, Antoine Yates, 31, was charged with two counts of reckless endangerment and possession of a wild animal, all revolving around Ming, a 400-pound, 20-month-old Siberian-Bengal tiger discovered by authorities on Saturday.
Tipped off by neighbours who complained about the stench of urine flowing from Yates' Harlem apartment, police rappelled down the side of his apartment building and hit the beast through a fifth-floor window with a tranquilliser dart.
Yates, a part-time taxi driver, was arrested on Sunday at a Philadelphia hospital where he was treated for bites from Ming, who attacked him when he tried to protect a kitten from the tiger.
"I still feel heartbroken, torn up. The pain is nothing. It is the pain in my heart that really bothers me. I really do miss him," Yates said after his court appearance.
"He was like my brother, my best friend. He was my only friend, really," Yates said.
Yates's ordeal came as magician Roy Horn of "Siegfried and Roy" fame was in critical condition after being savaged by one of the white Bengal tigers in his Las Vegas show.
Manhattan Criminal Judge Melissa Jackson released Yates on his own recognisance, ordering him back in court on December 18 to learn if he has been indicted.
Yates faces up to seven years in state prison if convicted of the top count of reckless endangerment.
Yates also kept a three-foot alligator-like caiman named Al, which authorities also found in his seven-room apartment. Ming and Al had separate bedrooms.
Ming, who ate 25 chicken thighs a day, was shipped to an animal refuge in Ohio, while Al went to Indiana.
Neighbours said Yates also has housed hyenas, monkeys and snakes in his home. Prosecutors said they were investigating what happened to Yates' other animals.
Huzzah! Hallelujah! (or however you spell that)! It took years, but we finally beat those fiendishly clever Indians at their own game, surging to the top of the
"Most Tiger Attacks in One Week" charts.
There is sadness tonight in the 7-11s and low-priced motels of America tonight, I tell you.
Our boys have won their stripes at last ...almost getting a unique peek at them from inside the tiger!
You are Soooo Baaad!
Thanks a lot...now my keyboard is swimming in Tea ; )
LOL, LOL, LOL!
I know, I know...You couldn't help Yourself, You are just living Up to Your Freeper Screen Name.
Have they looked inside the tiger?
I agree with you. I knew him personally and he had lots of friends and was well liked. He intentionally wouldn’t hurt any animal. The Tiger didn’t attack him. It was a mistake and once the Tiger realized it got him instead of the cat it stopped. If it was really was trying to kill him who could have really stopped it.... No one was there with tranquilizers. Some people need to get a grip.
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