GILLETTE, Wyo. (AP) — Charges were dropped against a man accused of kidnapping his neighbor's cat and holding it for ransom last fall.
Deryl Miles, 55, was arrested in September on larceny charges. He said he trapped the feline, named Brunswick, and held it for $50, leading police on a brief chase, because the cat was trespassing in his yard.
Prosecutors dropped the larceny charge on grounds the cat wasn't licensed, meaning it couldn't be defined as property under state statutes.
The animal, however, has since been licensed and prosecutors warned Miles he would be charged again if caught with the cat.
"You may be trapping cats and dogs at your own peril if you continue," Circuit Judge William S. Edwards said.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/offbeat/2004-03-05-cat-hostage_x.htm
Deryl Miles, 55, was arrested in September on larceny charges. He said he trapped the feline, named Brunswick, and held it for $50, leading police on a brief chase, because the cat was trespassing in his yard.
Prosecutors dropped the larceny charge on grounds the cat wasn't licensed, meaning it couldn't be defined as property under state statutes.
The animal, however, has since been licensed and prosecutors warned Miles he would be charged again if caught with the cat.
"You may be trapping cats and dogs at your own peril if you continue," Circuit Judge William S. Edwards said.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/offbeat/2004-03-05-cat-hostage_x.htm
