Boca Raton Criminal Lawyer Explores Recent Animal Cruelty Case

A Palm Beach County middle school teacher was charged with two felonies on Monday after the corpses of her two cats were discovered at her Boca Raton apartment on February 23. Boca Raton Criminal Lawyer Douglas Leifert has learned that Allison Dinsmore, 26, was originally accused of misdemeanor animal cruelty, but Palm Beach County prosecutors increased the charges to two counts of felony cruelty to animals. Each count carries a maximum penalty of up to five years in jail.

Phone messages and emails to Dinsmore and her defense attorney went unanswered. In February, Dinsmore told police that she couldn’t remember the last time she had been at her home in Boca Raton, because she’d been spending a lot of time at her boyfriend’s and working long hours at the middle school. However, she thought she’d left food and water for the cats.

According to Boca Raton investigators, the cats had been dead for about a month before the corpses were uncovered by an apartment manager. The manager also found signs of a frantic search for food and water.

Source: Teacher charged with felonies in deaths of two cats in Boca Raton apartment, Sun Sentinel, March 31, 2009
If you have been charged with a felony, contact a Boca Raton criminal attorney for a consultation.