Prosecutor: Uniondale man charged with kitten's torture
Shomari Ferguson, 22, of Uniondale Credit: Handout
A Uniondale man who was charged with torturing his girlfriend's 5-month-old kitten by dousing it in bleach and throwing it against a wall faces up to 2 years in prison, prosecutors said Wednesday.
Shomari Ferguson, 22, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to two felony counts of aggravated cruelty to animals and two misdemeanor counts after authorities said he abused the calico kitten named Callie early last year.
Bail was set at $25,000. Ferguson is due back in court on Aug. 10, and remains in custody on an unrelated charge of second-degree robbery, the office of Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice said in a news release.
"If he really did this he would have been arrested months ago" at the time of the alleged incident, said Ferguson's lawyer Greg Madey of Mineola. "He denies it completely."
According to the release, "between February and March 2009, Ferguson tortured and physically abused his girlfriend's then-five-month-old kitten, Callie, while she was not at home and he was alone in the East Meadow apartment with her pet."
The kitten was taken to the Center for Specialized Veterinary Care in Westbury. The kitten has been successfully rehabilitated and adopted, Rice's office said in the release.
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