Two Wetumpka, Alabama ‘cat ladies’ were arrested over the summer and charged with criminal trespassing on public land, disorderly conduct, and interfering with government operations.
Mary Alston, 60, and Beverly Roberts, 84 thought they were doing a good deed for their community by practicing TNR (trap, neuter, return). They would set traps for the stray cats and remove them from the property. The cats would either be rehomed or spayed/neutered and vaccinated and returned to the original area.
Beverly was charged with criminal trespassing and disorderly conduct. Mary was charged with criminal trespassing and interfering with government operations.
It all began when Elmore County took offense at the ladies helping the cats and contacted the police. Both were warned several times not to return to the property or they’d be arrested for trespassing.
Wetumpka Police Chief Greg Benton stated to USA Today that feeding the cats created a public nuisance and attracted more cats to the area.
The trial date, originally set for October 20, has been postponed due to scheduling conflicts by retired Montgomery County Circuit Judge William Shashy, defense attorney Terry Luck stated. No new date has been set at this time.
The defense has also requested city prosecutor Kenny James to recuse himself as he represented Roberts in a divorce case, which created a conflict of interest. That request was honored.
This may appear to be an extreme case, but it’s something feral colony feeders face on a regular basis. It’s NEVER a good idea to throw ANYTHING at a police officer. Even a wadded-up tissue would likely result in an assault charge these days.
Please take the time to watch the video and give your thoughts in the comment section below.
A petition asking for the case to be thrown out and the police department investigated for use of force has already gathered over 33000 signatures and can be found by clicking here. It also goes into more detail about the arrest, including the facts that Beverly passed out in jail due to stress and that she’s a disabled veteran who served for 20 years in the U.S. Army.
Unfortunately for the cats the city thinks they have a problem now they haven’t seen anything yet. I have been doing it for years and have worked with our local shelters, over 20 years I have successfully brought down the population.
Thanks Christy for (1) being a TNR volunteer and (2) commenting.
These ladies are trying to cut down the population of unwanted cats in a public place ! Outrageous to see these ladies arrested for caring about the unwanted ferals .were they given any written notice of them being banned from a public place ! This is really over the top law enforcement .
Definitely. And they were doing nothing wrong as far as I can tell. Trespass is not a crime, and this was a public place. I have no idea what the police were thinking of unless they had an agenda to harass cat ladies. I sense that these coppers were breaking the law. If so, their behaviour should be investigated, and they should be arrested.