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Hartford County resident Ana Rodriguez, age 65, of New Britain, turned herself in to Southington Police on Friday, May 3, for the Monday, April 15 incident.
According to Lt. Keith Egan of the Southington Police, officers responded to the Walmart parking lot that had dropped off a cat and a kitten in the parking lot and then ran over the kitten.
Animal Control officers located the cats in the parking lot and discovered a deceased kitten. A witness reported as the vehicle exited the parking lot, it ran over the kitten, killing it, Egan said.
Egan said the witness described the vehicle and Rodriguez, stating they saw her open the rear of her SUV, remove two cats, and place both cats into the parking lot. She then got back into the vehicle and began to pull out of the parking space, striking one of the cats before exiting the parking lot.
An examination of the adult female cat determined it had a compound fracture to its right hind leg, with the bone protruding through the skin.
Video captured from the area assisted the officer in identifying the vehicle and captured details of the incident, including Rodriguez reaching down and appearing to pick up and throw the kitten a short distance away after it followed her back to the vehicle. After closing the door, the suspect makes several slow attempts to drive away, stopping to check the kitten's location before moving forward again, running the kitten over, then slowly driving away, Egan added.
Egan said Rodriguez initially denied being responsible for dropping the cats off, later admitting she left them in the parking lot without food, water, or shelter. She also denied running the kitten over.
She was charged with two counts of animal cruelty and released on a $2,500 bond.
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