Civil Guard agents have arrested a 28-year-old man for his alleged participation in the theft of three cats and the death of another inside the facilities of an animal shelter in the Marina Alta region of Alicante. In addition, supposedly two of the stolen cats would also have died at the hands of the defendant.
The investigation began on July 26, when the Civil Guard, through a complaint from an animal protector in the Marina Alta region, learned of the theft of a cat and the death of another feline by an unidentified person inside its facilities, as indicated by the Benemérita in a statement.
The Nature Protection Patrol (Paprona) of El Verger (Alicante) began a series of investigations to find the perpetrator, due to the seriousness of the situation.
The agents carried out a series of interviews with various animal protection organizations in the area and requested collaboration with the local police forces in the region. Through this collaboration, and with the help of the El Verger Local Police, they identified the person allegedly responsible for these acts.
The individual turned out to be a 28-year-old man and resident of El Verger. The researchers verified that, previously, this person had adopted another cat from a different shelter and had subsequently reported its loss to request a new adoption. The protector, not seeing her excuse for her disappearance as credible, denied her new adoption.
On August 1, after obtaining sufficient evidence linking him to the denounced facts, the Civil Guard proceeded to arrest the man at the official facilities of El Verger. The man is accused of robbery with force and animal abuse, the latter resulting in the death of a feline.
After conducting additional investigations, officers obtained evidence suggesting that the detainee may have allegedly engaged in similar acts in the past. Specifically, they found that, during the month of July, the defendant had stolen two other cats from the same animal shelter. Subsequently, these animals would have died at the hands of the suspect and their bodies would have been abandoned near the facilities of the affected protector and her home.
The detainee and the proceedings have been made available to the Investigating Court number 2 of the Judicial Party of Dénia (Alicante).
