Grand Jury Indicts Cat Killer Again

Joseph Petcka, who allegedly killed his girlfriend's cat in a jealous rage last month, was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury on the charge of harassment in the second degree yesterday. Petcka, who is an actor, was previously charged with aggravated cruelty to animals and may face up to 2 years in prison.

The harassment charge was added because Petcka allegedly returned to his girlfriend Lisa Altobelli's apartment after they had a fight. Altobelli was not present, and the 205-pound former Mets minor leaguer apparently confronted her 7-pound cat, Norman. When Altobelli returned, she found her dead cat, and a necropsy revealed that Norman died over a 15 minute period and had "a broken leg, three broken ribs, broken teeth, and a lacerated tongue, and blood was found in his stomach and chest." Petcka, though, had a different story, per the Sun:

According to the filing, after being arrested outside his place of work, a bar and restaurant in the West Village, Mr. Petcka told an ASPCA investigator, Richard Ryan, that he "pushed" Norman after the cat randomly attacked him. When Norman bit Mr. Petcka's thumb, knuckle, and ring finger, he "swiped it away," according to the statement.

"I called Lisa a bunch of times to see if the cat had rabies shots, to see if I was going to get sick," he said, according to the statement. "I felt a little light headed, but I always feel light headed. Ha ha."

The Daily News had an article about pets and domestic abuse; last year, the first order of protection for a pet was issued in New York.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Chung in Arts & Entertainment on May 11, 2007 10:42 AM

Comments [rss]

Verdant25

Hung jury, the cat killer walks. No justice.

think again

as a displaced "Manhattanist" and an active animal rights supporter, I can only say that this Petcka person who did this despicable act is not a man. a real man doesn't have to resort to violence of any sort to get his point across or make a statement. it's really a sad state of affairs that people aren't healthier in mind and spirit. there are quite a few "hard bodies" out and about but, sadly, too few hard thinkers.

maybe some day society will catch up with itself and rectify the simple fact that there are a lot of people out there that are seriously (and dangerously) mentally ill. they just hide it well in nice clothing, a new car and a decent job. there is a clinical diagnosis for this type of individual ... criminal sociopath.

come on now, a prison stretch?!? and that's going to "rehabilitate" him? look closely at the percentages for successful lock-up rehabilitation ... not inspiring, to say the least. and what happens the next time when he decides that killing a house pet is not "a hard enough lesson" for his next GF's "transgression"? might as well hand him over to Dow Chemical for product testing now, because if he does it once ... he will surely do it again. this is the rule of thumb when dealing with putrid megalomaniacs.

oh wait! according to what I've read here he has already done this before. can anyone say "DuPont"? being a hard liner on violence issues, I say let the sentence fit the crime. contemptible loser.

yeah

because, obviously, defense of an animal is grounds for any vigilante's use of lethal force.

what this man is alleged to have done is appalling, no doubt, and as they say; "he'll get his" - in the form of a couple/few years in prison. however, your colorful hyperbole proves at least that you might need a little shrink-time to work out these anger issues.

mihow

I love, love, love my unborn son. I just get really worked up over animal abuse. I don't plan on getting myself killed while pregnant with my son, but I wouldn't stop someone from pulling the trigger on any motherf*cker who does such a thing to an animal in my presence.

And thanks for the adoption tip, but I think my husband and I are going to do just fine raising this little guy ourselves.

whoa, wait a second

[La Leone, don't get me wrong, if I had seen this sort of thing unfolding, I'd have died trying to protect that cat. I would have done whatever I could to have him hurt as badly or worses, and I'm 7 months pregnant!]

you must be kidding....otherwise, i'd suggest giving your baby up for adoption; because your priorities are really fucked.

velvet foghorn

Norman was only seven pounds.

what kind of an animal would do that to a tiny thing?

I never understood why a girl would let a cat hater into their relationship. I would think that's a sure sign to stay away. Most of the guys I know who hate cats have problems.

oh well. you'll live and learn.

so there, I said it, not loving cats is my dealbreaker.

janine

You can get an ASPCA credit card, too - a percentage of your purchases gets donated to the ASPCA. Plus there's a cute kitty picture on the card. :)

mihow

Donating money is a great idea. Remember, there are a buttload of local shelters who REALLY need the money as well. (I live near Barc. They are incredible. If you have some extra dough, I highly recommend checking them out as well. They are a no-kill shelter, sweet as can be.)

We have the ASPCA take out 25 bucks a month from our accounts, and it feels good helping them out, but hit the local shelters as well.

mihow

La Leone, don't get me wrong, if I had seen this sort of thing unfolding, I'd have died trying to protect that cat. I would have done whatever I could to have him hurt as badly or worses, and I'm 7 months pregnant!

I hate him. I truly f'in hate him.

AP

Dave,

You have allot more guts then I could ever have...

I love animals, and have thought about pursuing some work in veterinary care, but always stop short because of the heart breaking cruelty that I would be bound to witness from time to time

I'm just going to donate money whenever I can the ASPCA

Cheers to you

La Leone

Mihow is putting it nicely, good for her for remaining calm. I want to f*cking kill this guy with my bare hands - like he did to a seven pound cat.

Dave

I was working at the animal hospital where Norman was brought to, and I saw how he looked. This guy deserves everything that will happen to his pretty self in prison. The ASPCA cop who responded was really amazing and a lot of kudos go out to him and all the people at the ASPCA who worked to get this asshole locked up.

Dave

I was working at the animal hospital where Norman was brought to, and I saw how he looked. This guy deserves everything that will happen to his pretty self in prison. The ASPCA cop who responded was really amazing and a lot of kudos go out to him and all the people at the ASPCA who worked to get this asshole locked up.

mihow

I can say with all of my heart that I truly despise this man. I only hope that prisoners who hurt animals are treated the same was as pedophiles, granny muggers, and rapists.

Seriously, this guy could drop dead right the fuck now and I wouldn't give a damn.