ASBURY PARK, NJ – An 18-year-old Asbury Park man, Bani J. Mezquititla, has been charged with torturing and killing his pet cat, but not before performing a heinous act on the feline.
According to Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago, an investigation into Mezquititla’s activities was initiated on Thursday, March 2, when a concerned citizen brought the body of a dead cat to Asbury Park Police Department headquarters.
“Members of that agency and the Monmouth County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) Humane Law Enforcement Division determined that the cat had belonged to Mezquititla, who is alleged to have first performed sexuaI acts on the animal, seriously injuring it,” Santiago said. “He is also alleged to have later restrained and tortured the cat, resulting in its death.”
Santiago said Mezquititla was located and arrested later on the same day the investigation was initiated,
He was taken to the Monmouth County Correctional Institution (MCCI) pending a detention hearing tentatively scheduled to take place in Monmouth County Superior Court on Wednesday, March 8.
Anyone with information about this matter is urged to contact Asbury Park Police Detective Anthony Houlis at 732-502-4582, SPCA Chief of Humane Law Enforcement Michael Goldfarb at 732-542-0040, or SPCA Lt. Michael Magliozzo at 732-440-4538.