Defendant in missing cat case pleads guilty to neglect of animals

Yahoo

11-04-2025

POTTSVILLE — One of the three people charged for their involvement in the disappearance of Catalina, a cat from Schuylkill Haven entered a guilty plea on Friday. Andrew Huber, 27, of Pottsville, was in county court before Common Pleas Judge William Burke for a status conference when he pleaded guilty to a summary offense of neglect of animals, and was fined $150.
First Assistant District Attorney Mike Stine said all charges, except neglect of animals, were withdrawn because of his cooperation at a preliminary hearing.Eric Prock, Huber's attorney, said afterwards his client wants to put the incident behind him.
'I think it's a just and fair resolution to the case and he's looking forward to moving on,' he said.
State police charged Huber, Nathan Youst and Ayden Spantak — both 20 and of Schuylkill Haven — in January 2024 after the cat disappeared on Dec. 31, 2023.
Youst and Spantak were initially charged with aggravated cruelty to animals and theft, both felonies; cruelty to animals, a misdemeanor; and neglect of animals, a summary offense.Huber was charged with two felony counts each of aggravated cruelty to animals and theft; two misdemeanor counts of cruelty to animals; and neglect of animals, a summary charge.All three had a preliminary hearing in Magisterial District Judge Andrew Serina's courtroom, Orwigsburg, in April 2024.
Huber waived his charges but Youst's and Spantak's were held for Schuylkill County Court, with the exception of theft. That charge was downgraded from a felony to a misdemeanor because the monetary value of the mixed-breed cat could not be determined.
Court records show both Youst and Spantak had been listed for trial in March, but Youst entered the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition Program, which, if completed, can result in the dismissal of charges and an expunged record.
He received ARD for the felony cruelty to animals charge, as well as misdemeanor charges of cruelty to animals and theft by unlawful taking. The neglect of animals charge was dismissed.
Charges against Spantak were withdrawn in March after consultation with state police and the family, Stine said.
'We didn't feel like there was a high likelihood of conviction,' he said.
What happened to Catalina?
Isabella Cruz, Catalina's owner, and Tandi Kashner, dog manager at Ruth Steinert Memorial SPCA, testified at the preliminary hearing last April.Cruz testified that she noticed Catalina was missing Jan. 2, when she went to feed the numerous cats at the residence.
She had not been at the home on Dec. 31 but arrived home Jan. 1, and went to bed after Huber — who didn't say anything about Catalina — picked her up from Philadelphia, Cruz said.
'I freaked out, and I was literally looking everywhere,' she said, describing her search for Catalina.
She contacted police after security camera video showed the cat inside a bag, where it could be heard yowling.
Cruz went looking for the animal on Berne Drive with others after someone said that the cat had been abandoned in that area.
Kashner testified that the shelter was told the cat was abandoned along Berne Drive after the defendants allegedly bragged about it, though she did not confirm with anyone that the cat was left at that location.
Kashner also said she spoke with Spantak at his home, and said he admitted 'they chucked it (the cat) out the back (of a vehicle) as they were moving.'
Huber testified that he was upset that Youst placed his kitten, which is not Catalina, in a bag, though it did not remain there.
He said that Youst then put Catalina in the bag, which Youst later put on the porch.
Huber said that he put the bag holding Catalina in the back of the truck that all three later occupied.
'I thought we were going to take her somewhere else to live,' he said when asked where he thought the cat was going.
Huber testified that he does not know what happened to the bag.