A man accused of poisoning his neighbor’s cats was allegedly caught on camera in the act, according to Biscayne Park police.
The woman said the two cats that died were the offspring of a stray that she’s been taking care of for years. She said before she rescued and adopted them, she was aware that someone in her neighborhood was leaving strange plates of food near her home.
“I would see these plates of what looked like strange scraps, maybe food with blue crystals or powder in it. I had no idea what it was until one day my dog was able to eat some through the fence and she got very sick,” she said. “I realized it had to be poison, or at the very least, a dangerous substance.”
Deaths deemed suspicious
Last weekend, the woman told police her neighbor saw a man, later identified as 72-year-old Chaim Gubitz, leave trays with food and an unknown crystal substance in the alley behind her home, according to the arrest report.
Miami-Dade Corrections
The woman said one of her cats ate the food and died two days later, according to police. She said her second cat also died of suspected poisoning.
According to police, they found several containers and plates during a search of the alley, two of which contained suspected poison. Those were submitted to a lab for testing.
A veterinarian conducted a necropsy on one of the cats and determined it had died of poisoning, according to the arrest report.
Suspect caught on camera
On Wednesday, the woman called police and said her Ring camera had captured a man placing two containers of food with suspected poison in the alley behind her home, the report said.
According to police, the woman followed the man to his home, which was just three doors away. Officers went to the home and took Gubitz into custody.
The owner of the cat and her neighbor both identified him as the man they saw leaving the containers of food in the alley.
Gubitz was arrested and charged with one count of animal cruelty with intent to injure or kill. He has since bonded out of jail.
