Man sets cat on fire and tortured 2 others

[concerned]

Sick mother f&%$#@

A homeless man on probation for an animal cruelty conviction was found with two tortured cats Tuesday, then linked to a small brush fire possibly started when another cat was doused in gasoline and set ablaze, officials said Wednesday.

Timothy Kooyman, 24, was arrested on suspicion of arson and felony animal cruelty after San Bernardino County sheriff's deputies found him in a truck parked at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains in Rancho Cucamonga.

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Timothy Kooyman
The deputies responding to a report of a suspicious person found Kooyman living in the truck, said sheriff's spokeswoman Cindy Beavers. Deputies learned he was on probation and received permission to search the truck, she said.

They found two cats with broken bones and amputated tails. The animals and statements by the suspect led deputies to believe he may have been involved in a 4 p.m. brush fire at the end of Etiwanda Avenue in Rancho Cucamonga.

The blaze started when a cat was set on fire and thrown into the brush, Beavers said. It had similar injuries to those in the truck, she said.

"They had all clearly been tortured," Beavers said.

One cat died in the fire. The two found in the truck were alive but later euthanized by animal control officers.

Kooyman was convicted last month of a felony animal cruelty charge stemming from a November 2007 incident in Upland, according to San Bernardino County Superior Court records. He was sentenced to three years probation and ordered to undergo mental treatment and not to possess any animals.

Kooyman is being held without bail at West Valley Detention Center. He is scheduled to appear for arraignment Friday, Beavers said.

[Queen Heart]

This is not only sick, it's also very frightening:
http://www.pet-abuse.com/pages/abuse_connecti...

Until our judicial system takes acts of animal cruelty seriously this will continue.

I just read a case where a man with prior animal cruelty went on to slaughter a family:

http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/cri...
http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/cri...
http://www.theledger.com/article/20080515/NEW...

[Voices For Pets]

Our organization is monitoring the animal cruelty charges against Timothy Kooyman. For detailed information, we have posted our own blog on The Desert Sun's web site. For all of you who are saddened, sickened and concerned about what Timothy Kooyman has done, you have an opportunity to show your support for the animal victims in this case by attending a court hearing if possible, and writing a letter to the San Bernardino County District Attorney (see contact info below). The next hearing in his case(s) takes place on Friday, September 26, 2008, 8:30 a.m., Dept. R-2 at the Rancho Cucamonga Courthouse on Haven Avenue. The two animal cruelty cases against him are Case Nos. FWV 801497 and 800066. His bail was raised by the Judge on July 1st from $50,000 to $150,000. Kooyman is currently in jail at the West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga. On Sept. 26, motions will be discussed. These are motions filed by Kooyman's public defender - she is trying to suppress evidence, and may try to get one of the cases dismissed. Representatives of Voices for Pets have attended prior hearings in this matter. We heard testimony by 4 different members of law enforcement: 1 animal control officer; 2 Sheriff's deputies, and 1 Sheriff's investigator. There is so much evidence - testimony and physical items - that prove Kooyman's guilt, in addition to his confessions to law enforcement.
Please know that these tortured cats were neighborhood PETS. One of them must have been wearing a collar and tag, or had microchip ID, because the Sheriff's deputy who wrote one of the police reports after Kooyman's arrest on May 13, 2008 stated that she contacted the owner of one of the cats, to let him know what occurred.
Please - let's let our voices be heard. Our community is not safe when Timothy Kooyman is released from jail. Thanks.

[e-mail]

Contact info to write the DA:
MICHAEL A. RAMOS
DISTRICT ATTORNEY FOR SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
316 N MOUNTAIN AVE
SAN BERNARDINO CA 92415

EMAIL: [e-mail]

Refer to Case No. FWV 801497
Request that his office prosecute the Timothy Kooyman case to the fullest extent of the law. Recommend that no plea bargain be agreed upon that does not include felony conviction on all counts. Ask that a copy of your letter or email be attached to Kooyman's probation report.
THANK YOU!

[sandy]

i think he should go to a mental institution. he is clearly eligible.

[Menifee]

Serial killers often start by torturing animals.

[susan kalish]

He has demonstrated the first 2 out of three signs for a serial killer. Arson and Animal cruelty. The third is late bed-wetting and we don't know but suspect that to be true also. Clearly Clearly, he is a danger to humans. He demonstrates that he cannot be stopped. so what is stopping him from next moving on to young women, girls, boys or old people? No sensible society would allow him out on the streets.

Sincerely,
Susan Kalish
Animal Care and Control
San Francisco, CA

[alanaj41]

Our society has to take more seriously the abuse of animals. I am so upset and sickened to learn that this man has been able to repeat abuse on animals. I also hope Michael Vick who it sounds like will be allowed out of jail early, has learned from his mistakes.

[Two-Sided-Story]

Timothy suffers from Schizophrenia and Bi-Polar Disorder, amongst other things, he has been on a 51-50 hold in a psych hospital in LA county and had been taking Seroquel a psych med for approx 6 - 8 months prior to his arrest. The marijuana he was smoking was for medical reasons, and recommended my the doctor who provided who with the psych meds. He has a social worker who helped him obtain the medication and social security funds as well as food stamps. HE HAS BEEN TROUBLED WITH MENTAL PROBLEMS FOR A LONG TIME, and the courts did nothing to help him the first two times he was arrested, they knew he was insane and let him out. I am not redirected blame just sharing a few facts that are conveniently left out, such as Tim had been seeking mental health treatment for some time.. Expect the medical reports to be very agreeable to my statements for i have first hand knowledge of the little fellow we call Tim. I know we would love to peg Tim as evil and sadistic but the sad truth is he had completely snapped and this is what happens when people with serious mental disorders fall through the cracks of our judicial and jail systems.I am confident Tim will spend the majority, if not the rest of his life in a Mental Institution, and I feel a little sorry for the doctors who are evaluating him because I know how deeply disturbed and troubled this young man's mind has become. Tim always told me "evil tim" was inside and trying to come out, it was no surprise when he was DIAGNOSED as schizophrenic in 2007-08 and given medication. Once he was given the medication he calmed down a lot and the voices were quelled. However when his parents refused to care for him (as usual, they used to abuse him) they put him on the streets. Out of work (telecommunications), and out of friends (due to the increasing insanity and demands for a shower), left to live in his truck in Mt. Baldy, Tim decided to harm innocent cats, and this wasn't this first time. The first time occurred when his "girlfriend (39 Years of Age)" who stole his SS checks had him babysit a cat she was supposed to cat-sit while she cheated on him regularly. This made the unstable Tim very upset and confused leading him to abuse his first cat (INEXCUSABLE). this is where Tim's affinity with cat abuse began, associated with that gold-digger Renee. If you know the Gold-digging Realtor who resides in Upland, you are just as much a low life as Tim. I hope this brings some clarity to the situation and provides answers that otherwise would untrue and told by someone who did not have the first hand knowledge that I do, as Tim did not have a lot of friends.

[concerned citizen]

Maybe we should finally get rid of the liberal thinking people and go back to old time rules, i say he should be tortured like the cats were, pour gas on him and if he cant pay for treatment oh well. start thinking out of the box,if we start to crack down on losers like this maybe crime will go down,break the hands of shoplifters, cut the orans off of rapists torture and kill murderers and child abductors, once this is implemented crime will go away

[Voices For Pets]

UPDATE ON KOOYMAN CASE NO. FWV801497, THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA v. TIMOTHY ARIE KOOYMAN, COUNTY OF SAN BERNARDINO:
A trial date has been set: April 6, 2009, Dept. R-2 at the Rancho Cucamonga court house.
The prosecutor, Deputy DA Debbie Ploghaus, is doing an EXCELLENT job. She represents us - the People of the State of California. Kooyman sought out people's PETS. They were not strays. In the cities of Corona, Rancho Cucamonga and Alta Loma, Kooyman deliberately parked his car in upscale or middle class residential neighborhoods. Then, he placed opened cans of cat food underneath his white Chevy S-10 pickup truck. When the cats began eating or when he could get nearer to them, he grabbed them quickly and shoved them into a large plastic storage container in his truck. Then he would drive away, park in a remote area, smoke pot from his bong, pull the cats' legs up while they were in the container and proceed to pull and bend their hind legs, resulting in broken bones, then would get his scissors, cut off the tails of the cats, light a match, burn the cats' whiskers, and then do other, different kinds of torture, depending on his mood. This information is documented and contained in the court file, based on voluntary admissions Kooyman made to a Deputy Sheriff, and Sheriff's Investigator. PLEASE - if you care about animals and humans, and if you want to show your support for the victims, please come at least one day to the court during the upcoming trial. Also, to Eric McNamara of Rancho Cucamonga: we are very sorry that your cat suffered at the hands of Timothy Kooyman, and that the poor cat had to be euthanized late at night on May 13, 2008 due to its horrible injuries (one of the worst cases of animal abuse the treating emergency veterinarian had ever seen). ERIC - you may have an opportunity to make a Victim's Impact Statement on Kooyman's sentencing day. Please consider doing so.

[weaffectchange]

In response to the clueless nitwit 'Two-sided-story': May you and your loved ones never experience the horrific, calculated atrosities that these cats did at the twisted hands of Timothy. Any human who makes excuses for this by hiding behind mental illness is clearly lacking in many areas him/herself. It is inspiring to see organizations such as 'Voices for Pets' fight for what should be the norm in our society, if we are truly the 'higher beings'. One may not be able to change the world but it takes only one to affect change.

[Shams]

weaffectchange wrote:

In response to the clueless nitwit 'Two-sided-story': May you and your loved ones never experience the horrific, calculated atrosities that these cats did at the twisted hands of Timothy. Any human who makes excuses for this by hiding behind mental illness is clearly lacking in many areas him/herself. It is inspiring to see organizations such as 'Voices for Pets' fight for what should be the norm in our society, if we are truly the 'higher beings'. One may not be able to change the world but it takes only one to affect change.

Are you a trained psycology doctor? Who are you to judge the mental stability of another person? You obviously have not accounted for all of the facts beside what the media has chosen to reveal to you.

[weaffectchange]

Shams, do you really simply not know the difference between mental illness and cruelty or is it much more likely that you choose to pretend that you do not?

[CAT]

He should have just killed himself. Why hurt innocent cats. Maybe you should put him out of his misery!

[Weaffectchange]

CAT, I'd like to think you're an animal lover but you've probably heard your mother's "2 wrongs do not make a right" theory a million times growing up and I'd have to agree. The best way to help is to collectively affect change in the laws in the severity of cases like Timothy's to keep these people from doing wrong. If that isn't enough for you to think about getting invloved for innocent animals with no voices, then remember that these people move on to bigger game for more thrills.

[Smiles]

Hey I know that guy! he used to come over to my house and play halo LOL

[No excuses]

This REPEAT offender whether mentally ill or plain sadistic and mean, what ever the diagnosis , locked up is where he belongs. Either jail or at a mental help facility for the criminally insane.... There is no situation that exists that this individual should ever be set free. He cannot stay on his meds on his own is what it sounds like, and since his mental illness involves true criminal behavior, then its too bad he has to be made to pay . Ill or not, public safety is what the issue is, not whether he was hearing voices. Crimes were committed. More than one time. He might be ill but cannot be trusted. I seriously doubt his mental problems were the only cause. There are zillions of people who suffer from mental illness, even off meds do not go around torturing helpless animals. A danger to society a danger to his community, a danger to others in general.

[Weaffectchange]

You connect the dots perfectly, 'No excuses'.

[alex]

first of all, how is he a hobo at the age of 24? what a waste of life, insane or not, he knew what he was doing, it is absurd that people even have an option to plea insanity, this guy needs to be hung and shot.

[Weaffectchange]

Ahhh-h-h, Alex, the good(?) ole days of the wild, wild west probably had their good and bad but I hear you. Strive to affect change to protect those who cannot protect themselves but let's leave the hanging and shooting in history and movies.