Mesa police have arrested a suspect in the cat mutilation case who admitted taking up to 40 cats, but denied harming them.
Scott Andrew Graham, 39, who is allergic to cats, was arrested about 10 p.m. Monday on suspicion of animal cruelty. Police said the inside and trunk of Graham’s car smelled like animal carcasses.
Video surveillance on Aug. 8 caught Graham removing a cat from the top of a victim’s vehicle in the 900 block of West Natal, according to police. Graham put the cat in his vehicle and drove away and several days later the cat was found dead and mutilated behind a strip mall, police said. Another mutilated cat was also found there.
Friends and neighbors in the victim’s neighborhood were shown the video. Then at 1 a.m. Aug. 23, one of the neighbors saw Graham’s vehicle in the area again and pursued him on his bicycle. Police said Graham threw a cat out the window and fled.
Monday evening, the same neighbor saw Graham’s vehicle in the neighborhood again, got his license plate number and gave that to patrol officers, according to police.
Once police tracked down Graham, they discovered cat hair in his car. He admitted that he had taken up to 30 or 40 cats from the area. He told police he played with the cats but did not harm them.
But police said there was evidence at Graham’s residence and in his vehicle that, combined with his “strange story” and video surveillance, led to his arrest for animal cruelty.
Graham offered no explanation for his odd behavior with cats, but did tell police that he needed to stop searching for and taking possession of cats.
Graham had no prior arrest record, according to a Mesa police report.
Engaged Voter posted at 9:24 am on Tue, Sep 4, 2012.
This diseased individual needs to be locked away.
This is no joke - people that do this to pets always "graduate" to humans. If he is allowed to walk for "only" mutilating cats, we'll see him in the news again, only next time the victims will be children.
Juggernaut8000 posted at 1:29 pm on Tue, Sep 4, 2012.
Good work to the concerned citizen and Mesa PD. I just wish I would have caught him in the act instead.
azloki posted at 3:03 pm on Tue, Sep 4, 2012.
This lad is in serious need of the Pliers and Blowtorch method of justice...
catloverlady posted at 6:16 pm on Tue, Sep 4, 2012.
Thank God, this evil person is off the streets! I've been praying for this for days. PLEEEEZ FOLKS, keep your beloved cats indoors and out of harm's way. I have 3 cats that are perfectly happy and content being inside all the time. They are loved and cared for the way they should be. There will always be sickos who want to do harm to pets, like this terrible human being. Don't you love your cats enough to bring them indoors and out of danger?? PLEASE LEARN FROM THIS.
beefrits posted at 7:35 am on Wed, Sep 5, 2012.
catloverlady is right.
Now before anyone starts flaming me, I'm not saying the killing of pets is in any way defensible.
I AM saying that if cat owners had to be as responsible for their pets' behavior as dog owners have to be for theirs, things like this wouldn't happen. Why is it acceptable for cats to roam free, use the neighbors yards as litter boxes, spray on cars and leave dead birds wherever they kill them? Don't the neighbors of cat owners, many of whom have 5 or 6 cats, have a reasonable expectation that they won't have to clean up after someone else's pets?
The dispensation for the irresponsibility of those cat owners who allow their cats to run free is unwarranted and invites the sort of savagery we have seen.
dustbowl11 posted at 12:21 pm on Wed, Sep 5, 2012.
Responsible dog owners? That's a laugh. Most I've seen actually walk their dogs by other people's houses so they can defecate or urinate in other people's yards. That is actually worse than an animal doing it on their own. I especially enjoy watching those "responsible" people carrying empty plastic bags. They never seem to stop and pick anything up that their dog leaves. Never mind the urinating on the shrubbery. There are very few responsible pet owners of any kind.
VofReason posted at 1:40 pm on Wed, Sep 5, 2012.
Make no mistake. This fool will get a slap on the hand and be back to his old ways soon. And for once, I completely agree with EV. People (in this case a stretch) graduate from harming animals to harming humans. Maybe some of the people that had their animals taken may want to "help" this gentleman change his ways. Unfortunatly, the justice system isn't setup to handle nuts that harm animals in a way that changes their minds.
Juggernaut8000 posted at 4:05 pm on Wed, Sep 5, 2012.
I hear you VOR, I hear you loud and clear...
Carolyn posted at 4:14 pm on Mon, Sep 17, 2012.
This low-life b**T*** needs to meet the block wall that surrounds my property - with his FACE - HARD! I'll be glad to introduce him to the wall.