- April 16, 2024
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(Editor's Note: The story below is based on a report from the Flagler County Sheriff's Office. More details have emerged. For example, Ydaliz Suarez has said that she did not know about abuse to the kittens until May 20. A new version of the story appears in print in the Saturday, June 2, edition of the Palm Coast Observer. Click here to read that story.)
A 28-year-old Palm Coast man, Angel Roman, was taken into custody May 20 under the Baker Act, under suspicion that he tortured and killed kittens. He was booked into the Flagler County Inmate Facility May 26, with the charge of cruelty to animals.
According to a report from the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, Flagler and Volusia Support Services representative Robert Rollins said Roman admitted to accidentally choking a kitten. He also told Rollins that he bit the lips off a kitten and burned its whiskers with a lighter.
Rollins advised that Roman is mentally ill and believed Roman needed to be Baker Acted. The Baker Act is a state law that allows for an involuntary mental evaluation up to 72 hours of a person who is in danger or is putting others in danger.
Ydaliz Suarez and Edward Veras are the owners of the kittens, and they rented a room to Roman. Suarez said Roman spent a lot of time with the kittens and was always holding them, but they did not realize he was harming them. Suarez advised that this has been going on for up to three weeks.
She advised it started when they were out of town and Roman was alone with the kittens. Roman called them and said someone wanted two of them and asked if he could give them away. Suarez gave him permission to do so. These two kittens are unaccounted for at this time.
A couple days later while all parties were in the residence, a kitten was found dead in the residence. At the time they believed it to be from natural causes. Then Suarez noticed that a black-and-white kitten appeared to be injured. She thought it was possibly from one of the other kittens. The animal's condition continued to worsen, so she contacted her friend, Jacquelyn Gallagher, who advised her that the injuries were much worse than what another kitten could have caused.
Gallagher and Veras talked to Roman about the injuries to the kitten. They told deputies that Roman admitted that he had choked the kitten that was found dead weeks ago. He also advised them that he bit and burned the black-and-white cat named Oreo, and also that he burned the whiskers of the other cats in the residence.
Oreo was removed from the residence and turned over to Palm Coast Animal Control for care and further investigation. A veterinarian from Banfield Hospital Palm Coast confirmed on May 21 that the injuries were consistent with the witnesses’ statements.
The owners of the kitten voluntarily released custody of the kitten; therefore, the city of Palm Coast will be responsible for these medical expenses and any further expenses accumulating for its treatment. The expenses to date are over $300.
