A teenager was arrested early Sunday in the string of mutilations of cats that has horrified residents in south Miami-Dade County.

Tyler Weinman is charged with 19 counts of animal cruelty, 19 counts of improperly disposing of an animal body and 4 counts of burglary, the Miami Herald reported.

Early Sunday, State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle announced the arrest in a statement.

"Our communities of Palmetto Bay and Cutler Bay have been on edge for many weeks now because of the horrific and unspeakable slaughterings of many of their beloved feline pets," she said. "I sincerely hope that with his arrest, the residents will feel relieved and their cats will be safe once again. It is expected that the vicious crimes that have plagued these communities will not be repeated."

Miami-Dade police on Saturday issues arrest warrants for suspects, WPLG Channel 10 in Mimai reported. Circuit Judge Darryl Trawick signed the arrest warrant for Weiman.

Police said that since April, 33 cases involving dead cats have been reported. Eighteen of the cases, involving 19 dead cats, have been confirmed as animal cruelty, police said.

The cat killings happened in Palmetto Bay, Cutler Bay and Kendall.

Source : http://www.examiner.com