Irish cat torturer back in Ireland after fleeing New York

Declan Garrity, 24, was spotted at his parents’ house in Tyrone despite a warrant in New York looking for his arrest.

 

A Northern Ireland man accused of animal abuse in New York, where he is facing arrest, is currently residing at his parents’ house back in Ireland.
A bench warrant was issued for Declan Garrity, 24, from Omagh, Co. Tyrone, in April 2016 when he failed to appear in a Manhattan Supreme Court to face charges of animal cruelty.
It was believed Garrity failed to appear in court because he returned to Ireland after receiving notification his visa had expired. Irish newspaper the Sunday Life have now confirmed the former Barclays banker has returned to Ireland, tracking Garrity down in Omagh last week.
The 24-year old was arrested on February 24, 2016, and charged with aggravated cruelty to animals as well as torturing and injuring animals. The arrest came after his roommate, Danielle, discovered her pet cat Lucy had received multiple unusual injuries. The Tyrone man stands accused of ripping out the cat’s nails, breaking bones in her face, pelvis, and legs and burning the animal.
The abuse is believed to have taken place over the course of three months, from the time Garrity moved into the Upper East Side apartment after answering a roommate-wanted ad on popular site Craigslist. As early as January 2016, his housemate noticed problems with the cat which Garrity claimed were a result of an iron falling on her.


Lucy the cat.

He is charged with two counts of aggravated cruelty towards animals, a charge that can carry a sentence of up to four years in jail.
Although initially released on a $6,000 bail, Garrity was arrested for a second time just days after his release when he returned to his shared apartment to collect his belongings outside of the time allotted by the judge and without a police presence which was also prescribed by the court.
Released for the second time, he faced problems again in April when his bail was revoked and Justice James Burke issued a bench warrant ( a type of arrest warrant) in his name after he failed to appear in court. Contrary to claims by his lawyers that he was forced to return to Ireland because of visa issues, Assistant District Attorney Erin Satterthwaite has stated that immigration rules would not apply while Garrity was involved in a criminal case.

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