Trials for Wetumpka 'cat ladies' delayed
WETUMPKA — The trials for two Wetumpka women facing misdemeanor charges for feeding stray cats in the city have been delayed.
The trials for Beverly Roberts, 85, and Mary Alston, 60, were set in Wetumpka Municipal Court for Thursday. The trials have been continued and a new date has not been set, said Terry Luck, one of the women’s defense attorneys.
Luck and the women’s other attorney, retired Montgomery County Circuit Judge William Shashy, have scheduling conflicts, he said.
The defense also asked city prosecutor Kenny James to recuse himself; he has a potential conflict of interest since he represented Roberts in a divorce case, Luck said.
James has recused himself.
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It’s not unusual for trials to be delayed.
Roberts faces charges of criminal trespassing and disorderly conduct, and Alston faces charges of criminal trespassing and interfering with governmental operations, records show.
In June both women were arrested on public property in downtown Wetumpka while they were attempting to feed and trap stray cats. Once the cats are trapped, the women pay to have them neutered and either work to get them adopted to return them to the stray colony.
Officers arrived and arrested them, saying they had been previously trespassed and were told not to feed animals. Wetumpka Police Chief Greg Benton says the feeding of the animals created a nuisance because it attracts more cats to the area.
Benton said both women were “repeatedly” warned not to feed the cats and could have prevented the arrests by heeding those warnings.
Luck says the arrests are baseless and that the women were performing a service by working to neuter the animals and prevent the stay cat population from growing.
Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Marty Roney at mroney@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Trials for Wetumpka 'cat ladies' delayed over scheduling conflict
