Teens plead guilty to microwaving cat

June 5, 2008

Awww, poor little babies getting punished by their peers. CAMROSE -- Two of the teens accused of microwaving a cat to death pleaded guilty in a Camrose courtroom yesterday, ending their trial before it even began. But townspeople say the high-profile animal cruelty case will never really be over. "Nobody will ever forget it. I don't think those kids will ever live it down as long as they're in Camrose," said Shannon Hewlett, 30. "As they grow older, if they stay in Camrose, everyone will know who they are and what they did.It's too small a town to ever get away from it," agreed Joyce Brooks, 48, adding that the crime affected many in Camrose. "It was very upsetting for the town. And embarrassing," she said. The teens, aged 15 and 16, pleaded guilty to charges of break and enter and unlawfully causing pain or suffering to an animal. The teens had earlier pleaded not guilty to the charges. In an agreed statement of facts read by Crown prosecutor John Laluk, the pair admitted to breaking into a Camrose home on Dec. 29 by smashing the basement windows. Once inside, the boys trashed the house, breaking a television and a guitar and putting holes in the walls. The next night, they returned with two other teens and caused more damage before placing the family cat, Princess, in the microwave. Princess

screamed for 10 minutes before she became quiet and died, said Laluk. They then wrote messages on the walls that said, "It's in the microwave,Nice cat," and "You had a nice cat." The two other teens - aged 15 and 13 at the time of the incident - will stand trial in November. The teens in court yesterday will be sentenced July 17. The judge asked for a pre-sentence report. The teens' clean criminal records and the mandate of the Youth Criminal Justice Act will make jail time unlikely, Laluk said outside the courthouse. "I would like to see some sanction imposed, some rehabilitation imposed," he said. Lawyers for both teens asked the judge to lift a condition prohibiting them from contacting Princess's family so that they could offer an apology before sentencing. Chris Millsap said his client, the 16-year-old, was remorseful and has been through a lot since the incident. "Other people his age have perhaps taken the

matter into their own hands and made it difficult for him," he said, adding that his client no longer lives in Camrose. "I think that's life," said Tove Reece of Voice for Animals, an Edmonton-based animal rights group that has travelled to Camrose for every court appearance. "Obviously other kids were disturbed by what happened and I guess that's their way of showing their displeasure. Sometimes the penalties you pay are not always the ones in court. "The community can be worse and perhaps that's what these kids are looking at now - the disdain of the community," she said. http://pets.Fortheanimals7/join http://www.myspace.com/fortheanimals7

June 5, 2008

GOOD, I hope the peers of those evil kids beat the shit out of them- that is what they deserve!

nancie

Shannon Morgan

Thursday, June 05, 2008 6:53 AM

animalconnectiontx ; Animal Rights Resources ; animalrightsandvegans ; Animals Advocates ; AnimalsNeedUsNow ; ARAs ; extreme-animal-rights ; Fortheanimals7 ; ; In Solidarity with Animals ; Planet4Animals ; Speak 4 Animals ; Vegan_Animal_Rights

Teens plead guilty to microwaving cat

Awww, poor little babies getting punished by their peers.

CAMROSE -- Two of the teens accused of microwaving a cat to death pleaded guilty in a Camrose courtroom yesterday, ending their trial before it even began. But townspeople say the high-profile animal cruelty case will never really be over. "Nobody will ever forget it. I don't think those kids will ever live it down as long as they're in Camrose," said Shannon Hewlett, 30. "As they grow older, if they stay in Camrose, everyone will know who they are and what they did.It's too small a town to ever get away from it," agreed Joyce Brooks, 48, adding that the crime affected many in Camrose.

"It was very upsetting for the town. And embarrassing," she said. The teens, aged 15 and 16, pleaded guilty to charges of break and enter and unlawfully causing pain or suffering to an animal. The teens had earlier pleaded not guilty to the charges. In an agreed statement of facts read by Crown prosecutor John Laluk, the pair admitted to breaking into a Camrose home on Dec. 29 by smashing the basement windows. Once inside, the boys trashed the house, breaking a television and a guitar and putting holes in the walls. The next night, they returned with two other teens and caused more damage before placing the family cat, Princess, in the microwave. Princess screamed for 10 minutes before she became quiet and died, said Laluk. They then wrote messages on the walls that said, "It's in the microwave,Nice cat," and "You had a nice cat." The two other teens - aged 15 and 13 at the time of the incident - will stand trial in November. The teens in court yesterday will be sentenced July 17. The judge asked for a pre-sentence report. The teens' clean criminal records and the mandate of the Youth Criminal Justice Act will make jail time unlikely, Laluk said outside the courthouse. "I would like to see some sanction imposed, some rehabilitation imposed," he said. Lawyers for both teens asked the judge to lift a condition prohibiting them from contacting Princess's family so that they could offer an apology before sentencing. Chris Millsap said his client, the 16-year-old, was remorseful and has been through a lot since the incident. "Other people his age have perhaps taken the matter into their own hands and made it difficult for him," he said, adding that his client no longer lives in Camrose. "I think that's life," said Tove Reece of Voice for Animals, an Edmonton-based animal rights group that has travelled to Camrose for every court appearance. "Obviously other kids were disturbed by what happened and I guess that's their way of showing their displeasure. Sometimes the penalties you pay are not always the ones in court. "The community can be worse and perhaps that's what these kids are looking at now - the disdain of the community," she said.