Man sets cat on fire and tortured 2 others

Sick mother f&%$#@

A homeless man on probation for an animal cruelty conviction was found with two tortured cats Tuesday, then linked to a small brush fire possibly started when another cat was doused in gasoline and set ablaze, officials said Wednesday.

Timothy Kooyman, 24, was arrested on suspicion of arson and felony animal cruelty after San Bernardino County sheriff's deputies found him in a truck parked at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains in Rancho Cucamonga.

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Timothy Kooyman
The deputies responding to a report of a suspicious person found Kooyman living in the truck, said sheriff's spokeswoman Cindy Beavers. Deputies learned he was on probation and received permission to search the truck, she said.

They found two cats with broken bones and amputated tails. The animals and statements by the suspect led deputies to believe he may have been involved in a 4 p.m. brush fire at the end of Etiwanda Avenue in Rancho Cucamonga.

The blaze started when a cat was set on fire and thrown into the brush, Beavers said. It had similar injuries to those in the truck, she said.

"They had all clearly been tortured," Beavers said.

One cat died in the fire. The two found in the truck were alive but later euthanized by animal control officers.

Kooyman was convicted last month of a felony animal cruelty charge stemming from a November 2007 incident in Upland, according to San Bernardino County Superior Court records. He was sentenced to three years probation and ordered to undergo mental treatment and not to possess any animals.

Kooyman is being held without bail at West Valley Detention Center. He is scheduled to appear for arraignment Friday, Beavers said.

This is not only sick, it's also very frightening:
http://www.pet-abuse.com/pages/abuse_connecti...

Until our judicial system takes acts of animal cruelty seriously this will continue.

I just read a case where a man with prior animal cruelty went on to slaughter a family:

http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/cri...
http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/cri...
http://www.theledger.com/article/20080515/NEW...