Ardmore man arrested after police find dead kitten in backpack
ARDMORE, Okla. (KXII) - An Ardmore man was arrested on for animal cruelty after police found two kittens inside his backpack on Tuesday.
One of the cats was dead, and the other was injured.
According to a police report, Jaquez Law was trespassing on Ardmore resident Dava Jump’s property, so she called the police.
Jump said she was afraid Law was injuring cats. For several months, she’s seen him through her security cameras, trespassing on her property and chasing cats around her driveway.
Then on Tuesday evening, she saw him again.
“I called 911 immediately and I gave them my name and address and said this person that has been stalking the property is here now, please hurry, please come,” Jump said. “And they got here in a few minutes, and they were able to get him on the property.”
When officers began arresting him, the report states Law said “something to the effect of ‘I’ll give them back,’” in an apparent attempt to bargain with cops to be released.
“My stomach just got sick when i saw his hands go into the backpack. i told my neighbor oh my gosh hes about to shoot us hes probably going to pull out a gun and shoot us//and then they grabbed them and then one officer took the bag and i filmed the video of it myself. one of the officers said there’s two cats in here and he put them on the ground and said that ones dead.”
The report states that the cats didn’t have access to food or water, and were likely crushed by other things in the bag.
“I could see their genuine surprise though, when they saw the cats,” Jump said. “Because all this time, they just don’t believe me.”
Ardmore police were unable to speak with KXII today. On Tuesday the department said they’ve been balancing calls in that neighborhood from people who do and don’t like the cats.
Jump’s neighbor, Tiffany Goodrich, said she’s also been spooked by the incidents.
“It went from drug activity to killing cats in our neighborhood,” Goodrich said. “Nothings being done and Ardmore really needs to do their job before somebody gets hurt.”
Jump suspects Law is also to blame for the disappearance of her cat Gray Baby, who’s been missing for over a month. She said she confronted Law in the past when he had grabbed her cat.
The injured kitten was taken to a local vet.
Law is facing two felony counts of animal cruelty, several drug charges, and a trespassing charge. He faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.
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