Eric Henry Medero, 25, charged with breaking into his former partner's home and strangling her mom's cat with his bare hands

FLORIDA -- A South Florida man has been charged with animal cruelty, burglary, stalking and criminal mischief after allegedly strangling a cat belonging to his ex-girlfriend's mother.

Eric Henry Medero, 25, is accused of breaking into the woman's house in Miami and killing her pet before leaving its body on his former girlfriend's bed.

The cat's owner, who was not at home at the time of the alleged attack, claimed she saw Medero breaking into her property on her security camera surveillance and called police.

 

When officers arrived, Medero, who is from Miami-Dade, Florida, was leaving the property, they said.

They detained him after a foot chase - and said he had scratches on his arms consistent with those of a cat clawing.

The cat owner's daughter had an injunction against the man for 'dating violence,' according to a police report.

The cat was killed on Southwest 48th Street in Miami
(pictured) while its owner was not at home

Medero had used a crowbar to pry open the door of the home she shared with her mom, according to a police report seen by NBC Miami.

He was was being held without bail as of Friday, jail records showed.

Meanwhile, in another animal cruelty case from Florida, the man who intentionally ran over a duck and her ducklings with a lawnmower, killing nine of them, was jailed for one year.

Jason Scott Falbo II, 24, of Royal Palm Beach, pleaded guilty to nine counts of felony cruelty to animals, the Sun-Sentinel reported.

 

The landscaper also pleaded guilty to a separate domestic battery by strangulation charge - which arose from a fight with his girlfriend about a month before the duck incident.

He is said to have told a homeowner who witnessed the ducks being killed in his back yard in Wellington: 'They were in my path so I just kept mowing.'

(Daily Mail - Sept 26, 2015)