Five months in jail for taking the wrong kittens
A man, Patryk Ligeza, 24, who was searching for his missing kittens thought he saw them in someone’s house. He reached in through an open window to retrieve them. He was observed by the homeowner and a neighbour. They called the police when he refused to give one of the two cats back. He insisted they belonged to him. He remained at the property until the police officers arrived and did not struggle or flee.
He was held on remand for five months waiting for his trial. Being held on remand means being incarcerated in jail pending trial and is usually reserved for serious crimes.
When his trial for burglary finally took place, it was thrown out unceremoniously by the judge who could see no crime in his actions. Judge Graham Robinson said:
“He believed he saw his two cats in the complainant’s house and he was retrieving what he believed to be his property….It is obvious there was no crime in this, no malice and no dishonesty.”
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) abandoned the case at court. They offered no evidence.
To add insult to injury, Mr Ligeza’s kittens were found and rehomed while he was on remand. Bearing in mind that he was very keen to find his kittens, this is a very sad ending to a story about an injustice. I would doubt he’ll get them back. Perhaps he will. His kittens should have been micro-chipped. It would have stopped all this chaos.
This little vignette of cat living with cats in England encourages me to ask how far would I go to recover my lost cat. I’d do all I possibly could and I do something like Mr Ligeza’s ‘crime’ if needs be. It makes me think though.
Source: Hull Daily Mail via the Times