A New Britain woman is facing animal cruelty charges after allegedly abandoning injured cats and running over one in the parking lot of a Walmart in Southington, police said.
Ana Rodriguez, 65, of New Britain, is charged with two counts of animal cruelty.
Officers were dispatched to a Walmart at 235 Queen St. in Southington on April 15 to assist with an animal complaint. Reports alleged that a person driving a vehicle, possibly a black Nissan Rogue, had left an injured cat and kitten in the parking lot, according to a statement from Lt. Keith Egan of the Southington Police Department.
Southington animal control officers located the cats in the parking lot and discovered a dead kitten, Egan said.
A witness claimed she saw a woman open the back of her SUV, remove two cats and place them in the parking lot, according to Egan.
The witness told the officer that the woman got back into the vehicle and began backing out of the parking space, allegedly hitting one of the cats before leaving the parking lot, Egan said.
According to Egan, the witness provided a description of the vehicle and the driver.
During an examination, police discovered that the adult cat had a compound fracture on her right hind paw, with the bone protruding through the skin, which resulted in the amputation of the injured leg.
An X-ray of the dead kitten concluded the cause of death was consistent with being struck by a car, Egan said.
Video captured at the scene helped identify the vehicle and captured details of the incident, including showing the woman allegedly reaching down and appearing to pick up and throw the kitten a short distance from the vehicle after it followed her back to the car, according to para Egan.
“After closing the door, the suspect makes several slow attempts to drive away, stopping to check the location of the kitten before moving forward again and running over the kitten and then slowly driving away,” Egan said.
The vehicle was tracked to a residence in New Britain, where it was driven by 65-year-old Ana Rodriguez of New Britain. According to Egan, Rodriguez initially denied being responsible for dumping the cats, then allegedly admitted to leaving the cats in the parking lot without food, water or shelter.
Rodriguez denied running over the kitten, Egan said.
Although veterinarians were unable to determine how the adult cat was injured, they determined it was a recent injury, possibly due to being run over, according to Egan.
“The investigation revealed that Rodriguez intentionally released the two cats into a busy parking lot during business hours without food, water, shelter, or consideration for their health and safety, resulting in the death of one kitten and the neglect of a serious bodily injury to one second cat,” Egan said.
An arrest warrant was issued charging Rodriguez with two counts of animal cruelty. On May 3, she turned herself in to Southington police. She was arraigned and released on a $2,500 court-set bond and is scheduled to appear in New Britain Circuit Court on May 20, according to Egan.
