Blake Miles pleaded guilty to 2 counts of animal cruelty on May 10. He will be sentenced to twelve months in county jail with credit for 164 days served. The petit theft charges, however, will be dropped.
JSO said it began getting calls about the missing and dead cats in the area in mid-November. People also called JSO with information on the potential suspect, and officers also gathered information through social media posts.
News spoke with neighbors on November 18 about the cats, and they stated there were more than 20 either missing or dead in the span of 6 weeks.
Neighbors in Springfield are credited with helping police identify and arrest a suspect they say is linked to cases of dead, tortured and missing cats. The man’s arrest wouldn’t have happened if those neighbors didn’t come together.