Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Cem Basoflas, Istanbul, Turkey, sophomore, appeared in Douglas County District Court on Tuesday afternoon before Division I Judge Robert Fairchild on one charge of animal cruelty.
Basoflas’ lawyer, Sarah Swain, requested that a preliminary hearing, in which evidence would be presented to the court, be waived. But Douglas County prosecutor Michael Allen insisted that the court pursue the preliminary hearing, and Judge Fairchild agreed. Basoflas’ preliminary hearing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on April 6.
Had the preliminary hearing been waived, the case most likely would have proceeded directly to trial, according to the Douglas County District Attorney’s office.
Swain also suggested that the preliminary hearing be moved to a special setting outside the Douglas County Courthouse, but Fairchild declined.
Several members of the board of the Lawrence Humane Society who attended Tuesday’s hearing said they were glad the preliminary hearing had not been waived.
“I’m pleased that there will be a preliminary hearing and that this atrocious evidence will come out,” said Debbie Smith, a member of the humane society’s board. “He should not go unpunished.”
Midge Grinstead, director of the humane society, said the importance of the preliminary hearing was the public airing of evidence.
“When we did the necropsies with the vet, it was traumatic,” Grinstead said. “And that’s what will come out.”
She added that the current charge was “nothing compared to what he did. People will not want to hear it. Two of my board members brought ear plugs today, because they were afraid they were going to tell the evidence. It’s horrible.”
Grinstead said the humane society had been observing Basoflas at his southwest Lawrence apartment since May 2008, after Basoflas returned a cat with a broken bone and other problems. He had adopted the cat from the shelter. In August, the shelter allowed Basoflas to adopt a second cat, which he later returned with nine fractured ribs and a broken sternum, Grinstead said.
“For a cat to break a sternum — I don’t see that unless a car runs them over,” Grinstead said. “It’s pretty severe.”
The humane society is involved in all animal cruelty and neglect investigations in Douglas County, Grinstead said, and typically investigates about 500 cases each year. Grinstead said 18 cases were prosecuted out of all such investigations in 2008.
— — Edited by Brandy Entsminger
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Comments
Judge sets animal cruelty hearing date
Why did the humane shelter allow Basoflas to adopt a second cat after he returned the first one with severe injuries. Was his story of how it happened convincing? Why is this man not just burying his victims instead of taking them back to the humane shelter where people will, hopefully, take notice and action?
Judge sets animal cruelty hearing date
I highly doubt there's a reason to this man's 'logic'. As for the second cat adoption it's really anybody's guess but it's very likely that the first red flag wasn't enough to dissuade someone from the society giving him a second cat.
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