In DeLand neighbors say man slashed cat's throat

Feline dies of injuries after police arrive

By Jen Horton
BEACON STAFF WRITER

posted Dec 3, 2008 - 5:49:38pm

DeLand police arrested a 24-year-old St. Cloud man Nov. 30 after residents at Sha-De-Land Mobile Home Park said he stabbed a cat and slashed its throat before tossing it across the street.

The black cat was alive when officers arrived on the scene on Lisbon Parkway at 6:50 a.m. Sunday morning, but it succumbed to its injuries shortly afterward. Police said the cut on the cat's throat was so deep the trachea was exposed.

Officer Bruce Miller reported neighbors told him the man stabbed the cat several times with a knife and attempted to cut its head off.

Four Lisbon Parkway residents said they witnessed the early-morning attack. One woman told officers she cared for the cat and had been feeding it for several months.

"There are all types of animal cruelty," DeLand PoliceSgt. John Anderson said. "We've seen animals beaten and with broken bones, but I can't think of one case yet that was at this extent. To intentionally mutilate an animal — without putting it out of its misery — is more than I've run across."

After talking with the neighbors, police went to a nearby address and found the man witnesses said mutilated the cat: Levi Collier, a 6-foot-4 white male. His address is listed on the police report as being in St. Cloud, but Anderson said he had been staying at a home on Lisbon Parkway.

Police charged Collier with animal cruelty. According to Miller's report, he told police "I don't know why I stabbed the cat. It just happened."

Collier was taken to the Volusia County Branch Jail, where he remained Dec. 3, with bond set at $5,000. His arraignment was scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Monday, Dec. 29, in the Volusia County Courthouse.

Anderson warned animal cruelty is serious business. He used the example of Michael Vick, a former quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons, who is serving a 23-month prison term for his role in a dog-fighting operation.

"The amount of prison time you can get for this is nothing to joke about," Anderson said.

Anderson said killing a domestic animal is wrong, whether the target is a neighborhood stray or a pampered pet.

"This is not deer hunting, where you have a regulated process and you get a license," he said. "There is not a cat license."

For more information about the DeLand Police Department, visit www.deland.org/police.

— jen@beacononlinenews.com

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