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A KU student charged with two counts of felony animal cruelty was released on bond from the Douglas County Jail on Monday afternoon as Lawrence police officers continued to investigate an alleged pattern of abusive behavior from the suspect in the case.

Cem Basoflas, identified on a Web site about him as an Istanbul, Turkey, sophomore, was released about 3 p.m. The release came with the stipulations that he have no contact with or possession of any animal and that he surrender his passport, as set by Pro Tem Judge James George at Basoflas’ first appearance hearing on Friday.

Basoflas was arrested Wednesday afternoon after maintenance crews found a large quantity of blood in his apartment in the 2100 block of Heatherwood Drive, Sgt. Bill Cory, Lawrence Police public information officer, said Thursday.

A representative of the District Attorney’s office said Monday that more charges might be filed as the investigation continued. David Melton, the assistant district attorney prosecuting the case, said on Friday that the state intended to prove “extreme violence” against multiple animals.

Basoflas has another pending animal cruelty charge stemming from an arrest on Aug. 19. Police records for that incident listed Sarah Geisler, a nurse with the Lawrence Veterinary Hospital, as a witness.

Geisler said the August police report was filed after Basoflas brought a cat into the hospital. Geisler said veterinary technicians found that the cat had nine fractured ribs and a fractured sternum and was struggling to breathe because of a punctured lung. Geisler described the incident as the worst case of animal cruelty she had ever seen.

The cat is now living at the Lawrence Veterinary Hospital, Geisler said.

Midge Grinstead, director of the Lawrence Humane Society, said the humane society had investigated Basoflas before the August incident but did not have enough evidence to bring its suspicions of abuse to the police.

Grinstead said the humane society was involved in the current investigation and thought Basoflas had exhibited a pattern of abusive behavior.

Grinstead said she thought Basoflas obtained the animal or animals involved in the alleged cruelty incidents through Web sites such as Craigslist and Larryville.com.

Aaron Weatherby, an upstairs neighbor to the apartment at which police arrested Basoflas, said he had noticed a foul odor in the apartment building for about six months. Weatherby said the smell was “like a dead rat.”

Another neighbor, Anthony Fowler, said he never noticed an odor. Fowler said that he had heard a dog barking from Basoflas’ apartment Tuesday night and that he knocked on Basoflas’ door but there was no answer. Fowler said he thought Basoflas had owned the dog for only about a week before Wednesday’s arrest.

A management representative of Peppertree Apartment Complex, near 23rd and Kasold streets, where Basoflas lives, said there had been no complaints concerning Basoflas before his arrest. The management also said it had a rigorous screening process for residents that included criminal background checks.

Basoflas has been registered as a student at the University since January 2008 and was listed as having the intention to major in physics. He was registered as a student at Fort Hays State University from August 2006 to December 2007.

While at Fort Hays, Basoflas was involved with the Model United Nations Club. Jason Weaver, the president of the club at the time, said Basoflas was eager to contribute to the club’s research and was always studious and friendly.

“He was really cool when I got to know him,” Weaver said.

The club was assigned Turkey as its country of focus in competition during the time Basoflas was involved, and Weaver said Basoflas contributed positively to the group’s activity by sharing his perspective as a Turkish national on cultural and political issues.

Weaver said the only other interest he knew Basoflas had was in computers.

Jade Linton, another Fort Hays student involved in Model UN with Weaver and Basoflas, said Basoflas was eager to learn and to help the group. Linton said she was surprised by the allegations because she didn’t think the alleged incident fit Basoflas’ “sweet demeanor.”

Linton said that Basoflas seemed upset and apologetic about leaving Hays for Lawrence at the final Model UN meeting, but that the level of his distress seemed slightly off with the actual relationship between the club’s members,

“He was very sad about leaving and very ‘we can still be friends’ about leaving, but I didn’t really know why — the club wasn’t very tight-knit,” Linton said.

Some of Basoflas’ neighbors at Peppertree said they did not see Basoflas often and that when they did, he kept to himself, talking only on occasion.

Police officers are still investigating and have not yet released any details about evidence involved in the case beyond that the second charge involved one dog, which is now dead.

Basoflas’ next court appearance is set for 2 p.m., Feb. 24.

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