PIKESVILLE, Md. — A Baltimore County man avoids jail time after badly injuring a neighbor's cat by pelting it with rocks.
Earlier this week Joseph Olunwa, 37, was given six-months of unsupervised probation for the May attack.
Olunwa pleaded not guilty with agreed statement of facts, meaning he concurred with evidence presented by prosecutors.
That evidence included Ring camera footage of Olunwa throwing rocks at a defenseless one-year-old cat hiding underneath a parked car.
The cat's name is Grayson who belongs to Linda and her daughter, just a few houses away in Pikesville.
According to Linda, Grayson suffered a broken jaw and busted eye sockets requiring surgery. Linda provided police with gruesome photographs of Grayson after the stoning.
Grayson's story quickly spread, with thousands of supporters sending emails urging prosecutors to charge Olunwa with a felony.
Their campaign led to charges being filed, but only a single misdemeanor count of animal cruelty.
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The court verdict left Linda shocked.
“I feel utterly failed by the justice system which has enabled a violent offender caught red-handed to walk free without penalty,” Linda said in a statement issued through an animal protection organization called In Defense of Animals. "We had a video, bloody rocks, blood on the fence, the responding officers' testimony from Olunwa, and a veterinarian’s report. Instead of offering support to a victim of crime, the DA dismissed strong evidence and made me feel like I was on trial.”
Although Grayson may never be the same, he's alive back home with his family.
