Jul 2, 2008 10:47 am US/Pacific
Homeless Man On Trial For Torching Cats
RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. (AP) ―
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A homeless man allegedly torched and mutilated cats. He will stand trial on four counts of animal abuse and starting a fire. (file)
CBS
A homeless man is facing trial for allegedly soaking live cats in gasoline and torching them in the Rancho Cucamonga area. Timothy Kooyman was ordered Tuesday to stand trial on four felony counts of animal abuse and starting a fire. He will be arraigned July 15.
Investigators testifying at the 24-year-old man's preliminary hearing say Kooyman killed one of the cats by dousing it with gasoline and using a lighter to set it on fire while it was still alive.
The flaming cat then ran into a vacant lot and started a brush blaze.
Six hours after the May 13 brush fire, San Bernardino County sheriff's deputy Wendy Saucedo arrested Kooyman. She testified Kooyman had a storage bin in his car with two mutilated, but alive, cats inside.
The cats had broken legs and their tails were cut off.
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