Alleged Cat Killer Trial Starts Monday

Originally posted 10 07 a.m. Oct. 3, 2014. Edited to add a photo.

From the spcaLA:

A jury trial begins Monday for a 24-year-old man charged with killing cats.

Steven Ullery, 24, of Long Beach was charged by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office with four felony counts of cruelty to an animal in case NA098033.

He is scheduled to appear for trial in Department S19 of the Los Angeles County Superior Court, Long Beach Branch.

The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Los Angeles began an investigation in August 2013 after Ullery and his wife arrived at spcaLA with the bodies of two deceased cats and requested a refund. The animals had been adopted a month earlier.

During the spcaLA investigation, it was revealed that in March and May 2013, Ullery and his wife presented three additional dead cats to the Uptown Animal Hospital. One of the cats died from blunt force trauma to the face and another was choked to death, according to Los Angeles County prosecutors.

Long Beach Police arrested Ullery on Jan. 23 in connection with the animal deaths. The defendant was later released on $60,000 bail. If convicted as charged, Ullery faces a maximum sentence of five years in county jail.

PHOTO Photo courtesy the spcaLA.