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CUTLER BAY (CBS4) ― A Miami-Dade judge has set a hefty bond amount for a south Miami-Dade teen accused of killing and mutilating 19 cats in Palmetto Bay and Cutler Bay.

During a court appearance Monday afternoon, a judge decreed that 18-year-old Tyler Weinman would be held on nearly a quarter million dollars bond. Weinman was arrested Sunday and charged with 19 counts each of animal cruelty and improperly disposing of an animal body and four counts of burglary related to the deaths. He was booked into the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center with bail set at $154,500. During Monday's bond court hearing, that amount was increased to $249 thousand.

During Weinman's original appearance in bond court Monday morning, Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Mindy Glazer said she did not have the required information needed to set bond and asked if he needed a lawyer.

Weinman told Glazer, "I already have a lawyer."

Glazer responds: "Where is he?"

Weinman replies: "His name is David Macey. I'm not sure where he is."

Judge Glazer then instructed Weinman to have his present when he appeared in the afternoon session of bond court.

Weinman, who has been placed on suicide watch, has been ordered to undergo a psychological evaluation according to officials at the Miami-Dade County Main jail. TGK officials told CBS4 News that Weinman was transferred to the 9th floor of the Miami-Dade County Jail Monday morning which is usually reserved for mentally ill patients.

Weinman's arraignment date is set for July 6th.

Miami-Dade police Major Julie Miller said Weinman was taken into custody after weeks of investigation and surveillance. He was arrested Saturday evening at a party at a friend's house on the 600 block of Jeronimo Drive in Coral Gables. The investigation remains open as detectives try to determine if there were accomplices to the crimes.

Weinman's attorney, David W. Macey, said in an e-mail that Weinman is innocent of the charges.

"Tyler welcomes his day in court, so that he will be completely vindicated," Macey said. Jail officials said a court date was been set for July.

Weinman lives with his mother in 19-thousand block of Ridgeland Drive in the Whispering Pines neighborhood of Cutler Bay where four of the confirmed cat killings were discovered. His father, Douglas, is a dentist in the area and lives in Palmetto Bay, the second neighborhood where the bodies of murdered cats were found. The couple filed for divorce in 2006, court records show.

Police said Weinman was twice arrested as a juvenile, On May 29th, court records show Weinman was arrested for possession of marijuana.

In the past month, residents in the Palmetto Bay and Cutler Bay neighborhoods have reported finding the bodies of more than two dozen cats. Police said some were likely killed by dogs. Some were missing fur -- neighbors said some had been skinned -- and appeared to have been cut with a sharp, straight instrument, police said.

"I hope it's not true," 77-year-old Robert Ehrman said about the teen, who lives across the street from her in Cutler Bay. He called his mother a "lovely person," but said he didn't know the teen well. "It's like a death in the family, I'm sure."

According to Weinman's MySpace page he enjoyed skateboarding and was a member of Palmetto Bay skaters group.

Police said they had been watching the house where Weinman stays with his mother, and neighbors said he was taken to the police station for an interview on his prom night a few weeks ago. Weinman was still wearing a tuxedo when officers whisked him away that night, they said, and he missed the dance.

"If they do get the wrong guy and it's not him, they've ruined his life as it is right now," said 19-year-old Kyle Hantzis, who lives next door.

Hantzis, who said his father dates Weinman's mother, called the teenager quiet and well-spoken. Authorities said Weinman was spending his summer doing odd jobs, and his Facebook page says he graduated from Miami Palmetto Senior High this spring.

Hantzis said he had a hard time picturing the teen as a serial cat killer. "I don't think, the way he acts and his demeanor, I don't think he could physically do it," he said.

"I sincerely hope that with his arrest, the residents will feel relieved and their cats will be safe once again," said State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle in a statement. "It is expected that the vicious crimes that have plagued these communities will not be repeated."

It was an emotional day for those whose cats were killed. "I will go home and have a super good cry," said Nancy Mayes whose cat Sheba was killed on Mother's Day. "Part of sadness that she's not here and part of happiness that he's been caught. But who ever expects their animal to have to endure what they did how horrific. What a bastard to humiliate them and mutilate them the way he did."

At a news conference Sunday morning Cutler Bay, city and county leaders expressed their thanks to police for catching the person responsible and reassured the community that the 'reign of terror' was over.

"First of all my heart goes out to those families who have lost their dear kitties cause I understand that pet owners feel very strongly about their little family members when animals bring comfort to our lives. To see them so violated and so mutilated just defies all common sense and is painful for everyone involved. Thankfully for this community the terror has come to an end," said Miami-Dade Commissioner Katy Sorenson whose district includes Palmetto Bay and Cutler Bay. "And what of the perpetrator, depraved, demented, twisted; who knows what went into this kid's thought process as these crimes were committed. All that has to be resolved when he has his day in court."

"I am greatly relieved at the arrest in the recent cat killings that have become such a plague in Miami-Dade. While the killings started in Cutler Bay, they spread to Palmetto Bay, to Kendall and through media reports the grief and fear were shared nationally" said Cutler Bay Mayor Paul Vrooman.

As Vrooman thanked the police and the community, he also issued a warning to anyone who may be considering a similar crime. "I read a blog post this morning from one misguided poster who said he actually supported these acts because cats were a nuisance to him. To anyone who shares that opinion let me make this clear that cruelty is inhuman no matter what form it takes. The cruelty of these crimes were horrific for the animal victims but there were many human victims as well. Let's not forget the children and families who found their pets mutilated, these awful wounds inflicted a human toll."

County Mayor Carlos Alvarez echoed Vrooman's sentiments. "Cat owners can breathe a sigh of relief today," Alvarez said. "I want to commend the Miami-Dade Police Department for working around the clock to solve these cases and put a suspect behind bars. Animal cruelty in our community will not be tolerated."

Miller said investigators are now checking to see if Weinman is connected to similar crimes in other jurisdictions.

"This terrible time has drawn us together as a community, further emphasizing the importance of knowing our neighbors, communicating with each other, and always staying vigilant to suspicious activities whenever or wherever they may occur in our village," said Palmetto Bay Mayor Eugene Flinn.

"It's shocking to think that someone who lives right here and is our neighbor could do something like this," said Thomas Shad, whose black cat, Miss Kitty, was killed.

Shad, whose house is near Weinman's, said he had suspected a local resident might be behind the killings, which investigators started to examine in May. Police said they investigated more than 30 cat deaths and received hundreds of tips from concerned citizens.

For the Shads, his arrest brought a sense of relief to their quiet suburban neighborhood that they haven't felt since Miss Kitty's body was found in the grassy yard of an abandoned house.

"I felt that I could rest," said Mary Lou Shad, who said she cried while she watched the televised police news conference on Sunday. "I was at peace with what was happening."

CBS4's John MacLauchlan, Gary Nelson, Joe Inderhees, Tiffani Helberg and Jasmine Kripalani contributed to this report.

 

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