Man with 14 open cases charged after killing kitten
By Steve Rundio
Click here for updates on this story
LA CROSSE, Wisconsin (La Crosse Tribune) — A 30-year-old La Crosse man with 14 open cases in three counties is being held in the La Crosse County Jail after allegedly killing a two-month old kitten.
Kenneth L. Becker was charged in La Crosse County Circuit Court with felony mistreatment of animals and four counts of felony bail jumping.
According to the criminal complaint, police went to an Avon Street residence in La Crosse after a Northside Elementary School student disclosed that Becker had killed the family’s cat. Police interviewed a woman at the residence who said Becker had brought the kitten to the residence a month earlier.
The woman told police that on May 21, she heard Becker yell in pain followed by a thud and a loud meow. She said Becker told family members the kitten had scratched him and he threw it across the room. She checked the kitten for signs of life and said it died in her hands.
The family buried the kitten in the backyard. Police exhumed the kitten and turned it over to the Coulee Region Humane Society before it was transported to the State Crime Lab in Madison.
Becker wasn’t at the residence when police interviewed the family. An arrest warrant was issued June 9, and he was taken into custody June 24.
Judge Elliott Levine ordered that Becker be held on a $21,000 cash bond to cover all his open cases. They include three felony drug possession cases and causing injury while driving under the influence of a controlled substance.
Becker has a preliminary hearing set for July 5.
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
