Declan Garrity (24), the Barclays financial analyst accused of torturing his Upper East Side roommate’s cat will be escorted by the police to pick up his belongings at the apartment where the alleged offense took place.. He could face up to four years in prison for the felony offense.
Meanwhile members the public, so shocked by the crime, have set up a petition online demanding that the Omagh, County Tyrone man receive the maximum sentence for his crimes and be banned from owning a cat.
The Irishman faces up to four years in prison for two counts of aggravated cruelty to animals, a felony offense. He was released on $5,000 bail and is subject to a restraining order to stop him contacting his roommate, Danielle (29).
In court on Monday Garrity spoke only to confirm that he understood the court’s instructions before being led out of court..He declined to answer any questions. He will appear in court again on April 28.
Read more: The banality of evil revealed when justifying torturing a cat
It is alleged that Garrity tortured the black, white and brown cat, named Lucy, over three months “ripping out its claws and setting it on fire.” The cat underwent a number of surgeries last week, being treated for broken bones and burns. Her nails had also been pulled out. It’s reported that her hind legs, pelvis and bones in her face were broken, along with her teeth, and there was bruises on her back. He is also accused of setting the cat’s tail on fire.
The three-year-old feline has been in intensive care but is now said to be recovering and has begun to purr again.
Garrity, who had studied in Boston before moving to New York, appeared in court on Monday (Feb 29). He stood accused of battering the eight-pound animal in an “especially depraved or sadistic manner.”
Online members of the public have set up petitions at ForceChange.com and AnimalPetitions.org directed at the District Attorney of Manhattan, Cyrus Vance, calling for Garrity to receive “the maximum penalty for man accused of brutally torturing his roommate’s cat for three months.”
The petition states “This level of animal torture is sick and alarming. This person, if guilty, should be brought to justice. We urge you to seek the maximum penalty in this case and see to it that this man is banned from ever owning animals if he is found guilty of this horrific crime.”
Garrity’s roommate, named publicly only as Danielle, said the abuse went on for three months. When she asked her Irish roommate, who she had met through Craigslist,he told her an iron had fallen on the cat.
When Garrity moved into the Upper East Side apartment he told Danielle that he had grown up around cats. He moved into her apartment last November. As Danielle works as a nurse she believes that attacks took place while she was working late shifts.
She said the abuse had continued until February 20 when Danielle came home from work to find the cat cowering in her carrier. Her back foot was badly broken and her fur was burnt.
Danielle went to the police and vet Dr Robert Reisman carried out an inspection of Lucy. The vet found evidence of a number of injuries that had occurred during the last few days. He noted a dislocated right tibia bone, a fractured right tibia, broken teeth, severe inflammation to her mouth, burns to the tail, anal area, right thigh and left thigh.
Since Garrity moved in the cat has been acting strangely including hiding in Danielle’s closet, not eating and licking her paws constantly. On January 25 Lucy’s pelvis was broken and Garrity said an iron had fallen on the cat. Danielle has spent $12,000 in veterinary bills. She has set up a GoFundMe page for the cat’s care. So far she has raised $10,573.
Danielle had noted that Lucy was saying away from Garrity but never suspected what was going on. She said “I thought it was weird. I was like: "How can we get the cat to like him?" Your mind doesn't go straight to: 'He's doing something to my cat".
“It's nauseating. I've been disgusted with everything...I thought he was the best roommate I ever had. It's bizarre.”
According to his LinkedIn profile, Garrity joined Barclays in New York as a financial analyst in October 2014. His profile also shows that he studied Science at Queens University Belfast and then at the Hult International Business School, in Boston. In his youth he attended the Christian Brothers Grammar School, Omagh. The Daily News reports that Garrity has a working visa. He is currently on a leave of absence from Barclays.
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