Dead animals found in freezer of Topeka man charged with animal cruelty, DA says
Dead animals were found last week in the freezer of a Topeka man charged Tuesday with 26 misdemeanor counts of cruelty to animals, said Shawnee County District Attorney Mike Kagay.
"When (Topeka police) and the Humane Society of the United States served the warrant to the home, they discovered more than 10 deceased animals located in the freezer," Kagay said in a news release Tuesday. "Several dogs, cats, a guinea pig, a rat, a wild bird, and a hawk were located inside of the home alongside the remains of a chicken in a bathtub near the back of the property."
Police arrested Charles Cornelius Solomon, 28. He remained an inmate Wednesday in the Shawnee County Jail, where records showed he was being held on a $10,000 bond.
Victims were dogs in each of the 26 cases
Kagay announced Tuesday he had charged Solomon with 26 counts of animal cruelty linked to the situation involved. Dogs were the victims for each of those cases, the criminal complaint said.
It alleged Solomon in each case intentionally and unlawfully, while having physical custody of the animal, failed to provide "such food, potable water, protection from the elements, opportunity for exercise and other care as is needed for the health or well-being of such kind of animal."
The complaint doesn't go into further detail about what happened to the victims.
Floors and walls were coated in feces and filth
Solomon was arrested Jan. 30 after evidence of cruelty to animals was found at 1415 S.W. Fillmore.
Police and volunteers found 18 dead cats and dogs and 70 cats and dogs "living in squalor, with floors and walls coated in layers of filth and feces, and no apparent access to clean water," the Humane Society of the United States said on its Facebook page.
HSUS posted a video on its Facebook page showing some of the rescued dogs and cats, as well as the conditions in which they were found.
"Several of the 70 dogs and cats at the alleged severe animal cruelty and neglect case in Topeka, KS are in truly shocking physical condition," HSUS said on Facebook. "Many of them are emaciated and sick with a variety of serious conditions, including upper respiratory problems and eye issues."
More: 'Tears and nausea and nightmares': Topeka and Louisburg rescues of dogs and cats take toll
Police arrested Solomon and Desiree E. Therrien, 30, in connection with cruelty to animals. Therrien hasn't been formally charged.
Miami County Undersheriff Matthew Kelly said the Topeka case was linked to the rescue the previous week of nine Great Danes and a shepherd mix from a property where 10 deceased Great Danes were found near Louisburg, 84 miles southeast of Topeka.
Four "persons of interest" had been identified but none had been charged, Kelly said. It wasn't clear whether Solomon and Therrien were among the four.
Contact Tim Hrenchir at threnchir@gannett.com or 785-213-5934.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Dead animals were in freezer of Topeka man charged with animal cruelty
