2008 Woodie Awards
Alleged cat killer from Northeast Campus
By Regis L. Roberts
Issue date: 9/21/07 Section: News
Originally published: 9/20/07 at 5:59 PM CSTLast update: 9/20/07 at 8:49 PM CST
- Page 1 of 1
Three cats were found dead, wrapped in duct tape and placed on a piece of plywood Sunday near a road that runs along Cibolo Creek in Universal City.
Austin Patterson, 19, was arrested Sunday after his car, a white, four-door Cutlass Sierra, was found next to the scene and traced to him.
Detective Tina Vitacco of the Universal City Police Department said adoption papers for one of the cats was found in the car.
She said one of the cats had an implanted microchip, used for identifying animals that have run away, which was registered with the previous owner, who gave the cat to Patterson the day before.
Patterson, who lives in Live Oak, was reported by local media to be a forensic science student at this college.
Richard Mosley, coordinator of the criminal justice program, said, unequivocally, that Patterson was never a student in criminal justice. When he heard news reports that Patterson was a student here taking forensic science courses, Mosley said he did not recognize the name. He immediately checked to see if Patterson had ever been a student in the department and found that he had not.
He said these news reports are possibly damaging to the program's reputation and was angry that it was reported as such.
As a consequence of the reports, he said he received e-mails from people saying the department needed to do a better job screening students.
The Northeast Lakeview College vice president of student and administrative services, Debbie Hamilton, said Patterson is enrolled in three classes at Northeast Campus and a class through this college.
A visit to one of Patterson's classes at Northeast Campus Wednesday turned up no students who claimed to know him.
Patterson was charged with three felony counts of cruelty to animals and one count of possession of marijuana.
He is in the Bexar County Detention Center pending bond of $61,000 - $20,000 for each animal cruelty charge and $1,000 for drug possession.
Jared Solis contributed to this story.
Austin Patterson, 19, was arrested Sunday after his car, a white, four-door Cutlass Sierra, was found next to the scene and traced to him.
Detective Tina Vitacco of the Universal City Police Department said adoption papers for one of the cats was found in the car.
She said one of the cats had an implanted microchip, used for identifying animals that have run away, which was registered with the previous owner, who gave the cat to Patterson the day before.
Patterson, who lives in Live Oak, was reported by local media to be a forensic science student at this college.
Richard Mosley, coordinator of the criminal justice program, said, unequivocally, that Patterson was never a student in criminal justice. When he heard news reports that Patterson was a student here taking forensic science courses, Mosley said he did not recognize the name. He immediately checked to see if Patterson had ever been a student in the department and found that he had not.
He said these news reports are possibly damaging to the program's reputation and was angry that it was reported as such.
As a consequence of the reports, he said he received e-mails from people saying the department needed to do a better job screening students.
The Northeast Lakeview College vice president of student and administrative services, Debbie Hamilton, said Patterson is enrolled in three classes at Northeast Campus and a class through this college.
A visit to one of Patterson's classes at Northeast Campus Wednesday turned up no students who claimed to know him.
Patterson was charged with three felony counts of cruelty to animals and one count of possession of marijuana.
He is in the Bexar County Detention Center pending bond of $61,000 - $20,000 for each animal cruelty charge and $1,000 for drug possession.
Jared Solis contributed to this story.
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