Animal Abuse: Cat put in cycled washing machine - Lincoln, NE

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Case ID: 16134

Classification: Mutilation/Torture

Animal: cat

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Case #16134 Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Cat put in cycled washing machine
Lincoln, NE (US)

Incident Date: Saturday, Jan 30, 2010
County: Lancaster

Charges: Misdemeanor
Disposition: Convicted

Defendant/Suspect: Richard Lynne Andersen

Case Updates: 2 update(s) available

A Lincoln man has been charged with animal cruelty after police said he put his roommate's cat in a washing machine.

Investigators said Richard Lynne Andersen, 22, put a video of the incident on his cell phone.

On the video, investigators said you can see the machine spinning and hear Andersen laughing that the cat was "in the spin cycle."

Police say the video gave them the proof they needed to make the arrest. The cat is okay and is back with her owner. Andersen will be back in court on February 16th. He faces up to a year in jail.

Andersen was charged with a misdemeanor.

Case Updates

A Lincoln man who put his roommate's cat in a washing machine a year ago went to jail Monday -- after saying in court that he liked animals and cats were his favorite pets.

Richard L. Andersen, 23, pleaded no contest to first-offense animal cruelty. In exchange, a failure to appear charge was dismissed.

In court Monday, he said he didn't know what possessed him to put the cat in the washing machine and that it was really a stupid decision. He said he has written an apology letter to his former roommate, the owner of the cat.

Never mind the apology, Lancaster County Judge Gale Pokorny said, asking Andersen what he could have been thinking.

Andersen said he was doing laundry "and it just popped in my head."

"So it was just a lark?" Pokorny asked.

Andersen said he didn't laugh, but prosecutor Lory Pasold said it sounded as though he did in a video he took on his cell phone.

On Dec. 27, 2009, Lincoln police got a call for help from Andersen's then-roommate, saying he had put her cat, Delila, in a top-loading washer and took a one-minute, 14-second video of it on his cell phone.

"I actually like animals, and cats are my favorite pet," Andersen said in court on Monday.

Defense attorney Sarah Newell said that in his way, Andersen was trying to make things right.

In the end, Pokorny sentenced Andersen to 45 days in jail on the charge.

Source: journalstar.com - Jan 3, 2011
Update posted on Jan 3, 2011 - 9:39PM

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The man who police say put his roommate's cat in a washing machine soon will have a warrant for his arrest after failing to appear in court Tuesday on an animal cruelty charge.

Richard L. Andersen, 22, now faces a charge of failing to appear. Lancaster County Judge Gale Pokorny also ordered an arrest warrant and set his bond at $2,500.

Police said they got a call for help from Andersen's then-roommate on Dec. 27, saying he had put her cat, Delila, in a top-loading washer.

She said Andersen had taken a one-minute, 14-second video of the abuse on his cell phone.

If convicted, he could face as long as a year in jail on the misdemeanor.

Source: journalstar.com - Mar 30, 2010
Update posted on Mar 30, 2010 - 3:46PM

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References

KETV News - January 30, 2010
Action3 News - January 30, 2010

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Cat put in cycled washing machineLincoln, NE (US)

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Cat put in cycled washing machine
Lincoln, NE (US)