SCRANTON — A 20-year-old Scranton man stomped a cat to death on Wednesday, Scranton police charge.
Noah Gillis is facing a felony charge of aggravated cruelty to animals.
According to the criminal complaint:
Police responded to an area of Parker Street for the report of a man who had just killed a cat near the intersection of Main Avenue and Dean Street.
When officers go to the scene, they found Gillis walking north on Main Avenue, with a juvenile walking behind him, pointing at him.
Officers directed Gillis to sit down on the curb and spoke with the juvenile witness, who said he had been sitting near his window when he spotted Gillis stomping on a cat.
The juvenile immediately left his residence and ran to help the cat. But by the time he got to the animal, it was covered in blood and appeared to be dead.
He then ran up to Gillis and asked him why he had killed the cat.
Gillis said, “It’s none of your business, you don’t know what happened,” according to the complaint.
Animal Control Officer Katie Gallone confirmed the animal — a domestic orange and white cat — was dead and still warm. It appeared to have been killed by multiple blunt force trauma.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 10:15 a.m. on June 11 before District Judge Joanne Corbett.
Gillis remains at Lackawanna County Prison in lieu of $5,000 bail.