Aberdeen man indicted for cruelty to animals

FREEHOLD - A Monmouth County grand jury returned an indictment charging Anthony Appolonia, 50, of Aberdeen, with 19 counts of third-degree animal cruelty onMay 6, according to a press release from the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office.

The indictment charges Appolonia with torturing and killing 19 cats after he adopted them from various residents.

On Dec. 20, the Monmouth County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MCSPCA) investigated a report concerning the adoption of numerous cats and kittens by Appolonia. The MCSPCA determined that between October and December 2007, Appolonia had acquired approximately 19 cats by answering adoption ads placed by residents in local newspapers.

The investigation revealed that after obtaining these felines, Appolonia used various means to inflict injury upon them and eventually killed the cats by drowning them. On Dec. 21, Appolonia was arrested at his residence by officers from the MCSPCA and the Aberdeen Police Department.

Appolonia faces a sentence of five years in New Jersey state prison on each of the 19 counts of third-degree animal cruelty. He remains in theMonmouth County Correctional Institution in lieu of $105,000 bail, which was set by Aberdeen Municipal Court Judge Scott J. Basen.

The next court proceeding for Appolonia will be an arraignment, which is the formal presentation of the indictment to the defendant.

The arraignment will be scheduled within the next 45 days before state Superior Court Judge Edward M. Neafsey.

Despite these charges, authorities said, every defendant is presumed innocent, unless and until found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, following a trial at which the defendant has all of the trial rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and state law.