Homeless man faces felony trial in cat torture case
A transient is facing trial for allegedly soaking a live cat in gasoline and torching it in the Rancho Cucamonga area, the Associated Press reports. Here's an excerpt:
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 that 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.
-- Francisco Vara-Orta
