Here's another story from the New Haven Register:
ANSONIA — A 57-year-old man was charged Friday with 10 counts of cruelty to animals after one kitten died of head trauma while in his care and several other cats were ill and malnourished, police said.
Police Friday morning arrested Jay Baldwin, whose last known address was 55B Woodbridge Ave., was taken into custody in New Haven without incident, police said.
Baldwin’s arrest “stemmed from an investigation into a complaint that Baldwin had caused the death of a feline and had severely neglected another feline that had been given to him,” police said.
According to court documents, a woman lodged a complaint with local animal control officers, indicating that she needed help retrieving her two kittens from Baldwin at his Ansonia address.
Baldwin had contacted the woman and told her that one of her kittens, named Mario, had died, and had “blood coming out of its mouth.”
When the woman confronted him and asked why he didn’t let her know the kitten was ill so she could take it to a veterinarian, Baldwin allegedly told her he was too busy, an affidavit states.
The woman told Baldwin that she wanted both kittens back, and she then took the dead kitten to have an autopsy performed, court documents show.
The autopsy concluded that the kitten died of trauma to the head and neck and had blood in its eyes, nose and mouth, according to police.
When police spoke with Baldwin, he allegedly told them he went to work and found the kitten dead when he returned.
He told police he would never hurt an animal, then started crying, an affidavit states.
During the investigation, police got a warrant to search Baldwin’s residence, where nine more cats and five birds were found June 27.
All of the cats appeared to be neglected or abused, police said, with problems ranging from poor nutrition to trauma and parasites. They were taken to a veterinary clinic for treatment.
Three of the cats had to be euthanized, because of their poor medical condition, and the rest received treatment.
A fourth cat then had to be euthanized during the course of its treatment, police said.
As of Friday afternoon, the remaining animals were still being treated.
According to police, animal control has had dealings with Baldwin in the past, in which he allegedly was evicted from apartments and left cats behind. Baldwin, who has been evicted from the Ansonia apartment, was arraigned Friday in Superior Court in Derby before Judge John Cronin.
The judge ordered Baldwin to undergo mental health evaluation and issued an order that he not have any pets.
Baldwin was being held in lieu of $10,000 bail pending an Aug. 22 court appearance, according to the court clerk’s office.
It says he was arraigned in Derby Superior Court. I'll find out which court he'll be at on Friday and post it as soon as I know. The better the turnout, the more exposure this whole despicable case will get.
12/02
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