Man accused of kidnapping, killing cats in San Jose
SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- An arrest has been made in connection with mysterious catnapping and killings that ABC7 News started reporting on in San Jose two weeks ago. Reporter Vic Lee broke news of the arrest on Twitter on Wednesday.
He spoke with neighbors who'd previously said their cats were either missing or found dead. According to Vic, there's now a tremendous sense of relief that an arrest has been made.
"Pets are family members to a lot of us so," said San Jose resident Mike Bassi. "So when something like this happens it deeply definitely affects a lot of people and that affects the community. So yeah, that's really good news
Police arrested 24-year-old Robert Farmer as he slept in his car in the parking lot of a Home Depot on Hillsdale Avenue in San Jose.
Authorities say they found a dead cat in his car, noting that he matches the description of a catnapper seen in security video who snatched GoGo the cat from the lawn of a home in San Jose's Cambrian neighborhood three weeks ago.
In the newest video obtained by ABC7 News, you see a man running quickly across the screen. Neighbors say he's a catnapper. Bassi explained what happened last Saturday.
"Somebody was coming around the block and had walked up to one of the cats with a backpack and was trying to take the cat and put it in the backpack," he said.
As the man was doing that, another cat jumped out of his backpack.
VIDEO: SJ pet owners wait for word on missing cats following arrest
"That cat got out and ran over to my friend's house, Jay, and the other cat was able to run up the tree," Bassi said.
Bassi rescued her from the tree and took it to the vet. She appeared to have been beaten and had a strange bite mark.
"The vet told one of our friends that it was not a pet or animal bite, it was something else," he said.
VIDEO: SJ woman says video shows beloved cat stolen from yard
Bassi's neighbor chased the catnapper, which was recorded on video, but he got away.
That neighbor says the man looks just like the person in the previous video who snatched GoGo the cat.
Police say a necropsy will be done to identify the cat found in the suspect's car.
