Trial set in Calif. in fatal arrow attack on cat

SAN DIEGO (AP) — A man accused of firing two arrows from a crossbow to kill a neighbor’s tabby cat will face trial on two animal-cruelty counts, a judge ruled Monday.

Robert Eugene Brunner, 47, was jailed on $75,000 bond in June, when he pleaded innocent to two counts of maliciously or intentionally killing an animal and one count of animal abuse.

Superior Court Judge Joel Pressman dismissed one of the shooting counts after Brunner’s defense attorney argued he couldn’t be held separately liable for each arrow found in the cat.

The cat’s owner, Janeen Bubien, said she was thrilled with the ruling and added that “justice is going to be served.”

The 3-year-old tabby named Bill was found near Bubien’s home in a semirural part of Vista with metal arrows in its neck and back April 12, 2006. Bill died two days later.

“This cat suffered horribly,” prosecutor Katherine Flaherty said after the hearing.