Teens Convicted of Killing 16 Cats at Iowa Animal Shelter

Two young men who admitted breaking into an animal shelter and beating 16 cats to death with baseball bats were convicted of only misdemeanors Friday after the jury concluded that the strays were worth no more than $31.25 each.

Chad Lamansky and Daniel Myers could get up to five years in prison and $750 in fines at sentencing Dec. 12.

The jury took two hours to find the 18-year-olds guilty of offenses against an animal shelter and criminal trespass.

But the jury found that the value of the dead cats did not exceed $500, thus ruling out felony convictions that would have carried up to 10 years behind bars and a $15,000 fine.

“I’m very disappointed,” said David Sykes, owner of the shelter, Noah’s Ark. “For a jury to see the magnitude of injuries and death and destruction, and to say these cats are not worth $500, it’s hard to swallow.”

The defendants had no comment.

The attack, which took place March 8 in Fairfield, caused outrage in the community of 10,000, and the case was moved because of pretrial publicity.

During jury selection, defense attorneys admitted that Myers and Lamansky slipped into the shelter late at night and bludgeoned the cats. One defense lawyer called it “a stupid teenage mistake.”

The defense argued that the cats weren’t worth $500, the threshold for a felony. The jury agreed, finding that the cats were worth more than $100 but less than $500.

“I understand it was a stupid, childish mistake,” said juror Jeremie McCoy, 19. “I don’t think the state had a solid, concrete case. They seemed disorganized. I don’t think the 16 lives of the cats were worth $500, personally.”

Seven cats were injured in addition to those killed.

Sykes testified that the cats were worth more, based on initial health tests, neutering or spaying procedures, transportation costs, a $50 required donation for pet adoptions, as well as thousands of dollars in medical costs required to treat the cats after the attack.