FRESNO (KMJ) — A man facing animal cruelty charges after a cat bound with tape was found in a backpack he was wearing, has made his first appearance inside Fresno County Superior Court.
Charged with one felony count cruelty to animals, as well as two other misdemeanors related to his arrest on Sunday, Cody High looked anxious in the courtroom and focused on the floor.
He pleaded not guilty to the three allegations laid against him.
According to Clovis Police, his arrest came after they found High close to the intersection of Villa and Shaw in Clovis with a cat bound up in a backpack he was wearing. Officers add that they also discovered narcotics paraphernalia on him.
But a woman who introduced herself as Cody High’s aunt, says he thought the cat was dead and was actually taking it to be buried.
“He found the cat”, revealed Jena High. “I’m not sure exactly where he found it.”
“Right off the bat we knew Cody did not do that to that cat…I know Cody and he told them that he had a dead cat in the backpack. They didn’t find it, he told them.”
“Cody’s got a heart of gold, he’d give you the shirt off his back. He’s got a drug problem that’s his downfall right there, but that’s still not going to make him torture a cat.”
Cody High’s next appearance inside Fresno County Superior Court is scheduled for February 1st.
