ABSECON, N.J. (1010 WINS) -- A 30-year-old New Jersey man was sentenced to four years in state prison on Thursday for injuring his girlfriend's cat so badly it had to be euthanized, and holding a gun to a man's head.
Michael Ciarla, of Pleasantville, was convicted of aggravated assault by pointing a firearm in an October 2021 incident following where he pointed a BB gun that was a replica of a handgun, in an altercation outside a bar in Absecon, authorities said.
Ciarla fled the scene, but was later arrested, officials said.
He was on pretrial release for the gun incident at the time that he repeatedly slammed his girlfriend's kitten in a door, causing its legs to become detached from its body.
Ciarla was charged November, 2021, after the cat was brought to an animal hospital in Absecon, prosecutors said Friday.
A judge sentenced Ciarla to three years in prison for the attack on the kitten, with no term of parole ineligibility. He has 92 days of credit for his time served in the Atlantic County Justice Facility for that charge.
Ciarla was also given 365 days for the gun, with 99 days of credit and must serve that entire time.
His sentence will be consecutive instead of concurrent.
