Five kittens thrown from vehicle - Sarasota, FL

Saturday, Apr 30, 2005

County: Sarasota

Disposition: Acquitted

Person of Interest: Gerald Scott Schmitt

Case Updates: 3 update(s) available

The man prosecutors say threw five kittens out of his car in May 2005 is scheduled to stand trial April 3.

Sarasota resident Gerald Schmitt, 42, was arrested two days after a woman reported seeing him throw the kittens from a moving vehicle in the 1300 block of Whitfield Avenue while driving over 35 mph, according to court records.

Two kittens, estimated to be 6 to 8 weeks old, were found dead in the area shortly after the incident.

Schmitt faces two felony counts of animal cruelty and one misdemeanor count of cruelty to animals. The felony charges relate to the two dead kittens, and the misdemeanor is a combination of the remaining three kittens who survived but were not found.

During a hearing Wednesday at the Manatee County Courthouse, Circuit Judge Edward Nicholas denied a request by Brett Mcintosh, Schmitt's attorney, for the state to identify by color or type the two kittens found dead by authorities. Mcintosh argued that the specifics may be important to jurors and he is trying to save time by bringing out the details before the trial begins.

Nicholas said he would reconsider Mcintosh's request if it becomes an issue during trial.

A second request, which Nicholas granted, was for the prosecution to further explain the misdemeanor charge.

Schmitt has been out of jail on bail since May 26.

Case Updates

The man charged with intentionally dropping kittens from a moving car was found not guilty on all counts by a Manatee County jury. Gerald Schmitt, 42, faced a maximum penalty of 11 years in prison on two felony counts of animal cruelty and one misdemeanor count of the same offense for allegedly dropping the kittens out of his car while driving along Whitfield Avenue on May 18, 2005. Tracy Mayhugh, the lone eyewitness who reported the incident to law enforcement officials, told the six-person jury Tuesday that she saw Schmitt grab the kittens from the back seat of his car and drop them out of the driver's window while driving 30-35 m.p.h. Schmitt, who testified in his own defense, told the jury Wednesday that he lived in an area with lots of stray cats and that he drove a run-down car with broken windows. He said he had found cats in his car in the past and there may have been stray kittens jumping out of his car that morning, but if there were, he said he did not see them or intentionally harm them.

Source: bradenton.com - April 12, 2006 Update posted on Apr 12, 2006 - 8:22PM

A jury has been seated in the felony trial of a Manatee County man charged with animal cruelty for throwing five kittens out of a moving car. A jury of three men and three women, plus one alternate, a woman, was selected today. Testimony is expected to begin Tuesday about 10:30 a.m. Gerald Schmitt, 42, was arrested May 20 on warrants charging five counts of felony animal cruelty. Some of the charges were later dropped, according to Herald archives.

Source: Herald Today - April 10, 2006 Update posted on Apr 10, 2006 - 2:40PM

Schmitt, 42, is scheduled to stand trial Monday on two counts of animal cruelty, a felony that carries a maximum five-year prison term. Schmitt was arrested at a real estate company where he works in the marketing department several days after the incident. The trial here is expected to last two days.

Source: HeraldTribune - April 9, 2006 Update posted on Apr 9, 2006 - 6:27PM

References

• Bradenton Herald - March 2, 2006
• Herald Tribune - May 9, 2006

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