This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A Salt Lake County man resolved his criminal case this week, admitting that he trapped several kittens at his home and then threw them away in a garbage can.
Stephen Patrick Lacy, 63, pleaded guilty Monday to two reduced counts of class A misdemeanor attempted torture of a companion animal.
A 3rd District judge immediately sentenced Lacy to 18 months of zero tolerance probation. As part of his probation, Lacy was ordered to complete 100 hours of community service, and pay $1,000 to a charity that involves the care and shelter of animals. According to court records, he made a donation in that amount to Best Friends Animal Services later that day.
Lacy was originally charged with five counts of third-degree felony torture of a companion animal, but the charges were reduced as part of a plea deal. According to plea agreement documents, Lacy admitted that he "trapped two cats and placed them in a garbage can [and] left them there while the cats were still alive and suffering."
According to a probable cause statement filed in court, Lacy's neighbor could "hear the sound of kittens crying" coming from Lacy's property, located at 5499 S. Spurrier Road (110 West), on Aug. 23. When the neighbor looked inside Lacy's garbage can, he found two kittens stuck to sticky mouse trap pads beneath some dried leaves.
When Murray police arrived and interviewed Lacy, he allegedly admitted to throwing the kittens in the garbage can.
"Lacy said there were three more kittens in his carport that were also stuck to the traps," a detective wrote in the probable cause statement. "[An] officer could hear the kittens meowing loudly and observed three kittens stuck to one trap."
One kitten appeared to have a broken leg, according to the detective, while another appeared to have its mouth "stuck closed."
Lacy allegedly told police later that he had set the traps "to attempt to catch wild cats in the neighborhood."
Twitter: @jm_miller