Man Charged With Cruelty in Cat Deaths
A 76-year-old Reseda man was charged with two counts of animal cruelty Tuesday after he allegedly beat two kittens to death earlier this month in view of a neighbor, Los Angeles City Atty. James K. Hahn said.
If convicted, Hans Christian Egsgaard faces up to two years in jail and $40,000 in fines. He was arrested July 17 after the neighbor told police that she witnessed Egsgaard killing the cats and placing their bodies in a trash can, said Deputy City Atty. Don Cocek.
According to police, the neighbor heard the animals’ screams and looked into Egsgaard’s backyard where she allegedly saw him strangle and beat the animals with a blunt object, over the neighbor’s protests.
Officers from the Los Angeles Police Department’s West Valley Division arrested Egsgaard after finding the bodies of two kittens in a plastic bag in a trash can on Egsgaard’s property.
Egsgaard is scheduled to be arraigned Aug. 8 in Van Nuys Municipal Court.
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