Man used zip-tie to strangle cat found stabbed by front door, deputies say
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ST. ANTHONY — Deputies say they found a dead cat strangled with a zip tie and stabbed outside a man’s front door when they went to arrest him on warrants.
The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office went to a property east of St. Anthony Thursday to serve arrest warrants on 21-year-old Caden Armstrong. According to an affidavit of probable cause obtained by EastIdahoNews.com, a deputy noticed a dead orange-colored cat surrounded in frozen blood outside the door of the camper trailer where Armstrong lived.
The deputy also noticed a zip-tie around the cat’s neck and found a knife on the floor. As investigators and a probation officer search his camper, other deputies spoke with Armstrong about the dead cat.
“Caden said the cat was injured. He took the cat into the R.V. and attempted to strangle it by hand, but the cat scratched him,” a deputy wrote in a report. “He said he then put a zip tie around the cat’s neck and pulled it tight. He said he also stabbed it in the neck then discarded the cat outside.”
The cat had no signs of obvious broken bones or other injuries to indicate it had been hit by a car, deputies stated. Armstrong allegedly said he had been using methamphetamine before, during and after killing the cat. He told deputies that in addition to meth, he would test positive for marijuana use.
Armstrong said the cat belonged to his neighbors that he did not like. He said that is why he did not take the cat back to them after reportedly seeing it “flopping around” on the road. The neighbor confirmed the dead cat named Tigger was his.
During the search, investigators found .4 grams of meth and one gram of marijuana. Various pipes, bongs and other drug paraphilia were also found.
Armstrong was taken to jail on a felony burglary warrant in Madison County, a misdemeanor warrant out of Jefferson County and additional charges from the search at his trailer.
Armstrong is charged in Fremont County with felony possession of meth, misdemeanor possession of marijuana, misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia and misdemeanor animal cruelty.
Although Armstrong is charged with crimes, it does not necessarily mean he committed them. Everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
If convicted of the animal cruelty charge, the longest a judge could sentence Armstrong is up to six months in jail. The felony drug charge holds a maximum sentence of seven years.
Armstrong’s bail in the Fremont County case is set at $20,000.