Man Accused Of Stealing Neighbor's Cat Pleads Not Guilty
Owner Says Man Was Mad Because Cat Scratched Pickup
POSTED: 12:46 pm EST March 16,
2005
UPDATED: 11:18 am EST March 21,
2005
DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla. -- A man accused of stealing his neighbor's cat and releasing it in the Everglades has pleaded not guilty to animal cruelty charges.
The black cat, Mr. Kibbles, returned home 13 days after he disappeared Feb. 5.Images:Firefighter Accused Of Stealing Cat His owner, Nancy Leonard, says her next-door neighbor, Christopher Cortes, later confessed to stealing the cat and dumping it in the Everglades.
Investigators said Cortes, who is a Fort Lauderdale firefighter, was angry because the animal had repeatedly scratched his pickup truck."I think he should definitely be fired," Leonard said. "He is a firefighter and I think it's horrible that a firefighter -- you know you go to a house and see a firefighter dumping a cat instead of taking it out of a tree."Cortes entered a written plea of not guilty to animal cruelty and theft charges Tuesday.Meanwhile, Mr. Kibbles is doing fine now that he is back home with his owners.
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Images: Firefighter Accused Of Stealing Cat His owner, Nancy Leonard, says her next-door neighbor, Christopher Cortes, later confessed to stealing the cat and dumping it in the Everglades.
