Cambridge Man Arrested On Animal Cruelty Charges

CAMBRIDGE, MA — The Cambridge Police Department arrested a man in connection to an investigation of three East Cambridge animal cruelty cases that occurred this past spring.

Rashad Gober, 31, Cambridge, was arrested at his home without incident early Thursday morning and has been charged with four counts of Animal Cruelty.

An Animal Control Officer with the Cambridge Animal Commission responded to a call about an animal crying underneath a car on Thursday, May 6.

The Officer discovered a cat whose legs were tied with masking tape, had died under the car. A necropsy showed the cat had been shot in the face and body multiple times with a BB gun, according to Jeremy Warnick, Director of Communication for the Cambridge Police Department. .

After finding the cat in such an extreme state, Animal Control launched an investigation into the case, finding two additional cat cruelty cases in East Cambridge.

The Cambridge Police Department, Animal Commission and the MSPCA got involved and discovered that one cat was also brutally injured by BB gun shots in the beginning of March, and another cat suffered severe chemical burns in late May. Luckily, both of those cats survived.

During the investigation, Gober told police he found the cat with chemical burns behind his house and took it in to care for the cat. He claims to have notified the cat's owner that he found the cat and allegedly brought the cat back to the owner.

With help from the community, police were able to gather enough information to make an arrest.

“I commend everyone involved in this investigation— for their steadfast commitment to uncovering the evidence that led to the arrest of Rashad Gober,” said Tom Grenham, director of the MSPCA’s Law Enforcement Division.

Animal cruelty is a felony crime in Massachusetts punishable by up to seven years in prison and a maximum fine of $5,000.

Gober is expected to be arraigned Thursday in Cambridge District Court.