Queens Man Admits To Violently Killing Cat Just Ahead Of Trial

FAR ROCKAWAY, QUEENS -- A Far Rockaway man admitted to violently slaying a cat - and then trying to intimidate a neighbor who saw it - just hours before his animal cruelty trial was slated to begin.

Giovanni Olivo, 31, pleaded guilty to aggravated animal cruelty on Monday, the same day jury selection was slated to begin for the trial accusing him of tossing a cat from his balcony and then stomping the animal to death in 2016.

"This was a cruel and vile act of brutality," said Queens District Attorney Richard Brown. "These kinds of acts of aggression toward animals cannot - and will not - be tolerated."

Neighbors, several of them children, watched in horror on Sept. 30, 2016 as Olivo threw the cat off his third-floor balcony on Beach 26th Street and watched the pet hit the ground, according to the charges. He then went down to the street and repeatedly stomped on the cat, shouting "your dead to this world."

After he was arrested and charged with the cat's brutal slaying, Olivo tried to "scheme his way out of trouble" by intimidating a neighbor slated to testify, Brown said. He was charged with third-degree attempted intimidating a witness.

Olivo is slated to be sentenced on Sept. 12, at which time a judge indicated he will be ordered to 10 months in prison. He will also be banned from owning pets for five years and required to register as an animal abuser with the New York City Department of Health.

Lead photo via Shutterstock