PALMETTO BAY, Fla. -- Police have arrested the man they say is responsible for a string of cat killings in South Florida.Tyler Weinman, 18, lives in the area and is now in police custody, police said. He is charged with 19 counts of animal cruelty, four counts of burglary and 19 counts of improper disposing of an animal body.
"Our communities of Palmetto Bay and Cutler Bay have been on edge for many weeks now because of the horrific and unspeakable slaughterings of many of their beloved feline pets. I sincerely hope that with his arrest, the residents will feel relieved and their cats will be safe once again. It is expected that the vicious crimes that have plagued these communities will not be repeated," said Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle.
"I commend the police officers of the Miami-Dade Police Department and senior trial counsel Michael Von Zamft who worked tirelessly and exhaustively with our law enforcement partners in order to put an end to these acts of cruelty. My heart goes out to the pet owners who have suffered such a great loss," Fernandez Rundle said.
On Sunday night one homeowner told Local 10, "I didn't think it would be somebody in this neighborhood. I never suspected anybody in this area."
On Saturday, Miami-Dade police issued arrest warrants for suspects and said they were working to make arrests in the case.
Circuit Judge Darryl Trawick signed the arrest warrant for Weiman.
Miami-Dade police said that since April, 33 cases involving dead cats have been reported. Eighteen of the cases, which involved a total of 19 dead cats, have been confirmed as animal cruelty, police said. Those cases happened in Palmetto Bay, Cutler Bay and Kendall.
Palmetto Bay officials said police plan to serve warrants to multiple suspects, but they did not say how many.
Palmetto Bay resident Wayne Edwards transformed his backyard into a playground for his cats. He had 17 of the animals, but he is down to 16 after one was found slain and mutilated in a neighbor's front lawn.
"Why come here in this area and kill innocent cats? They are not doing anybody any harm," Edwards said.
More than 150 residents gathered at a town hall meeting Saturday morning to discuss the cat killings.
"This terrible time has drawn us together as a community, further emphasizing the importance of knowing our neighbors, communicating with each other and always staying vigilant to suspicious activities whenever or wherever they may occur in our village," Palmetto Bay Mayor Eugene P. Flinn Jr. said in the news release.
The reward for information leading to an arrest in the case was up to $12,000. The investigation continues.
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