Kyle Berry gets 30 months in prison for killing his neighbors kitten...

[phesina]

Good riddance to bad rubbish.. for a while, anyway. Have fun in jail, you dirtbag!

[moosmom]

Enfield man gets 2½-year prison term in killing of neighbor’s cat
By Laura F. Alix
Journal Inquirer
Published: Wednesday, February 24, 2010 12:27 PM EST


ENFIELD — A local man was sentenced in Superior Court on Tuesday to 2½ years in prison for kicking his neighbor’s cat to death and violating the terms of his probation in doing so.

The man, Kyle Berry, 44, of Bailey Road was sentenced to serve 18 months in prison on one count of maliciously killing an animal and a year for violation of probation.

“I don’t think we see any cases that are more viscerally offensive than animal cruelty cases,” Assistant State’s Attorney Keith DuBoff said during the sentencing.

Berry was arrested Nov. 1, 2008, when his neighbor, Annette Smith, called police to report that her 12-year-old granddaughter saw Berry kick her cat in the face, pick it up, throw it, and kick it again.


Berry later admitted to police that he kicked the cat because it was sitting on his front step, growling at him, and wouldn’t move when he tried to nudge it away.

According to the affidavit supporting Berry’s arrest, the cat died en route to the veterinarian, and a necropsy found it had died of “liver trauma with internal abdominal hemorrhage” caused by the kick.

At the time of his arrest in the cat killing case Berry had been on probation for less than a week on a charge that he had kicked a police dog.

In Superior Court on Tuesday Berry admitted to violating his probation and pleaded to the animal cruelty charge under the Alford doctrine, meaning he doesn’t agree with all the facts of the case but acknowledges the state has enough evidence to win a conviction at trial.

Patrick Tomsiewicz, Berry’s lawyer, provided the court with the results of a polygraph test on Berry, a psychological evaluation, and Berry’s military record.

The polygraph test showed Berry was not deceptive when he said he didn’t intend to kill the cat, and the psychological evaluation showed he didn’t suffer from any mental illness or post-traumatic stress disorder that may have affected his actions toward the cat, Tomsiewicz said.

But Tomasiewicz maintained that Berry’s military service during Desert Storm may have still left him “desensitized in some way.”

DuBoff did not take into account the polygraph test or the psychological evaluation, but said he believed Berry should be entitled to some credit for his military service.

Still, neither DuBoff nor Judge Howard Scheinblum minced words during the sentencing.

DuBoff said he had advocated Berry receive jail time in his first animal cruelty case in the kicking of the police dog, but Berry ended up with probation instead.

DuBoff said he wasn’t recommending probation in the cat killing case because he didn’t believe it would deter Berry from this kind of crime. He also said he didn’t believe Berry would make the same mistake again after having served a prison sentence.

Berry’s father, William Berry, defended his son in court.

“Kyle isn’t the type of person they have tried to prove he is. He has three children. He has animals of his own, which he has not mistreated. He’s not a vicious person,” William Berry said.

But Smith said Kyle Berry’s actions had hurt her family.

“The cat was a member of our family. It was our pet, and we loved it,” she said.

“I’m a pet owner, so I understand,” Scheinblum responded.

Tomasiewicz maintained that his client didn’t intend to kill the cat, and when given the chance to speak, Kyle Berry affirmed that.

“I did not intend to kill the cat,” he said.

But Scheinblum appeared not to be swayed by his statement.

“Don’t the injuries suffered by the animal prior to its expiration kind of belie the polygraph?” Scheinblum asked. “If this was a human being instead of a cat, there would still be a manslaughter (charge).”

Kyle Berry had been held in pretrial detention unable to post bond in the case since last April and the time he’s already spent behind bars will count toward the sentence imposed on him Tuesday.

Several animal rights advocates have diligently followed the case in court, appearing at every one of Kyle Berry’s court date to show their support for tough sentences for animal abusers.

After the sentencing, they expressed happiness at the sentence and praised Scheinblum and DuBoff.

“This judge is the best,” said animal rights activist Donna Ploss, who lives in East Hartford. “We couldn’t have asked for a better judge or prosecuting attorney. I didn’t see one ounce of remorse. What kind of example is that man setting for his three sons?”

[wombat2u2004]

Good riddance to bad rubbish.. for a while, anyway. Have fun in jail, you dirtbag!

You know, we should do the poor fellow an favour. Start a special PT fundraiser to keep him in good supply of very slippery soap, so he can give it to his new boyfriends to use on him