While divers were scouring the waters off Pier 14 for the murder weapon used to kill Kate Steinle of Pleasanton earlier this month, they made another grisly discovery: A dead cat in a bag held down with a 10-pound weight.
Deb Campbell, the outreach coordinator at San Francisco Animal Care & Control said Adrian E. Dumont of San Francisco was arraigned on felony animal cruelty charges on Tuesday, and was released on a $15,000 bond. Efforts to find Dumont were unsuccessful.
As Campbell described it, when divers were searching for evidence in Steinle’s July 1 shooting death along the pier, they found a floating bag with the dead 2-year-old tabby in it. The cat, named Kazuma, was tied to a 10-pound weight.
A microchip on the cat led animal control officers to Kazuma’s owner – Dumont.
Campbell did not specify exactly what evidence led them to believe that he had killed his pet.
Authorities did find the gun they say was used to kill Steinle - a .40-caliber gun stolen in June from a Bureau of Land Management agent. Francisco Sanchez said he found the gun under a bench, and has pleaded not guilty to Steinle's murder.
