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CUTLER BAY (CBS4) ― A south Miami-Dade teen accused of killing and mutilating 19 cats in Palmetto Bay and Cutler Bay has posted a nearly quarter-million-dollar bail.  Tyler Weinman, 18, will be released to the house arrest program.

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 $249,000.

CBS4's Natalia Zea spoke briefly with Weinman's father, who told her off-camera that his son is innocent and that he is not the serial cat killer his neighborhood has been so desperate to find.

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.

By Monday afternoon, Weinman's attorney David Macey faced Judge Glazer and they were at odds from the beginning. "The court has prejudged the facts," Macey told Glazer.

Glazer replied, "I don't appreciate you coming in here accusing me of being unethical."

SUICIDE WATCH
Weinman had been placed on suicide watch, 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; the floor is usually reserved for mentally ill patients.

In addition to the high bail amount, Glazer ordered a psychiatric evaluation. Once Weinman leaves jail, he will be required to wear an electronic monitor.  It could take up to two days for his registration for house arrest to go through.

Outside the courtroom, Prosecutor Michael Van Zampf laid out the concerns.  "I think that the type of crime is reason enough that an evaluation needs to be done," Van Zampf told CBS4's David Sutta.

FRIENDS REACT
Friends who knew Tyler well have a hard time believing he would kill 19 cats.

"If it really was him, he did a really good job hiding from his girlfriend, from all his best friends, and everyone who knew him," Alex Falgons said.

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

"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 attended Miami Palmetto Senior High.

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.

JUSTICE SOUGHT
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.

Macey said in an e-mail that Weinman is innocent of the charges and warned that "the individual that committed this crime is still running around."

"Tyler welcomes his day in court, so that he will be completely vindicated," Macey said.

Meanwhile, hundreds posted comments about the case on Facebook.

Some like Marlene Willey-Partlow said police probably had some evidence to arrest Weinman: "It is my understanding they had him under surveillance, so there must have been some sort of proof that he was the one committing these horrible acts."

Others said they shouldn't rush to judgment.

"People shouldn't judge until proven guilty, that's all I have to say," Vanessa Jade Lopez wrote.

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

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

VICTIMS REACT
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.

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."

"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.

ARREST ANNOUNCED
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. Weinman was still wearing a tuxedo when officers whisked him away that night, they said, and he missed the dance.

"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."

An arrest was announced at a news conference on Sunday morning in 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.

CBS4's Lisa Cilli contributed to this report.
 

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