Embattled Cat Owner Denied Public Defender

The 90-year-old Stratford resident charged with animal cruelty for not taking care of her cats in accordance with a contract with the town has been denied the right to a public defender.

"You're over guidelines," Judge Earl Richards told Marion Perreira Wednesday in Bridgeport Superior Court.

Richards said Perreira doesn't qualify for public defender representation and continued the case to Feb. 16. He suggested Perreira meet with a prosecutor outside the courtroom.

After talking to two prosecutors, Perreira, accompanied by her son William, said the lawyers will look into why see does not qualify for a public defender. William Perreira, 56, who lives with his mother and also faces animal cruelty charges, said he qualified for a public defender in his criminal case because he is unemployed. 

"I qualify because I have no income," he said.

The State of Connecticut Judicial Branch defines a public defender as the following:

An attorney appointed and paid by the state who defends a person in a criminal case after the court finds that the person is indigent--financially unable to hire a private attorney.

Marion Perreira said her only income comes from Social Security. She said she gets a check for $1,300 every third of the month, which comes to $15,600 for the year.

According to income eligibility guidelines for public defenders, as outlined on the state's judicial website, a defendant charged with a misdemeanor -- such as animal cruelty -- may be eligible for a public defender if the accused has a gross annual income equal to or less than $16,335.

It's unclear where the discrepancy lies, but Perreira said she's tried to hire an attorney and her case has repeatedly been declined.

"I've called hundreds of lawyers since the summer and now I can't get a public defender," Perreira said.

Stratford police arrested Perreira and her son for allegedly violating a signed agreement that outlined dates she was required to bring her five cats to the veterinarian. Four of those cats are the subject of a civil case the town has brought against the Perreiras. Marion Perreira has said the vet told her the cats did not need further treatment.

For more background, read the two stories below.

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AMID CRIMINAL CHARGES, JUDGE CONTINUES CAT OWNER'S CIVIL CASE

"He doesn't want us to say anything in civil court that could be used against us in criminal court," William Perreira told Stratford Patch after the hearing Monday.

(Published Jan. 25)

The 90-year-old Stratford woman involved in both a civil and criminal case against the town of Stratford had her civil case continued to March 19 during a court appearance this morning, according to her son.

Marion Perreira and her son, William Perreira, are both charged with animal cruelty for allegedly mistreating cats. In addition to those criminal charges, the Perreiras are being sued by the town in a civil case for violating the terms of a contract they signed in February 2011. [Details of the charges and contract appear in the original article below.]

"[The judge] doesn't want us to say anything in civil court that could be used against us in criminal court," William Perreira told Stratford Patch after the hearing Monday. 

Perreira said the town is complicating the civil case by bringing forth the criminal charges. He said he and his mother have secured a public defender for their respected criminal cases, but have yet to find a lawyer for the civil trial because lawyers find it "too time-consuming" and "complicated."

At today's court appearance, Perreira said he asked the judge if his mother could visit her four cats at Stratford Animal Control. On Jan. 14, Marion Perreira was turned away from the town's animal shelter and told she needed the town attorney's permission to see the cats that were seized from her Oct. 28, her son said.

In the company of a Stratford Animal Control officer and a representative from the town attorney's office, the judge ruled it was OK for Mrs. Perreira to visit her animals, Perreira said.

Marion Perreira is due in court for her criminal case Jan. 25. William Perreira's criminal case was recently continued to Feb. 10.

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90-YEAR-OLD CAT OWNER ARRESTED FOR ANIMAL CRUELTY

Marion Perreira walked into Stratford police headquarters Tuesday and was charged with five counts of animal cruelty and four counts of failure to inoculate an animal against rabies.

(Published Jan. 18)

Editor's note: Before and after photos of the March 2011 cleaning have been added to the photo gallery to the right. The cleaning, paid for via a grant, was part of the contract the town is now suing the Perreiras for allegedly violating.

Add one more court date to the Perreiras' calendar this month.

Two weeks after her son was arrested on similar charges, Marion Perreira was summoned Tuesday, Jan. 17, to Stratford police headquarters and charged with five counts of animal cruelty and four counts of failure to inoculate an animal against rabies.

The charges stem from violating a contract that was signed by Perreira and her son in February 2011. The contract outlined dates which the Perreiras were to bring their five cats to the veterinarian.

Perreira said she stopped bringing the cats to the vet after she was told by the doctor any further medication or treatment would be harmful for the animals. The 90-year-old Frash Street resident said Stratford Animal Control officers ignored her when she attempted to tell them this information. Four of those cats -- one couldn't be located -- were seized from the home on Oct. 28.

Perreira was released Tuesday on a promise to appear in court Jan. 25.

Her son, William Perreira, 56, (five counts) and is due in court Jan. 19. The two live together.

The Civil Case

Outside of the criminal charges, there is a pending civil case against the Perreiras in which currently in the town's possession. 

The civil case was presented before Judge Dale W. Radcliffe in Bridgeport Superior Court Jan. 3. It was after that hearing when William Perreira was arrested on animal cruelty charges. The civil case was continued to Jan. 23.

If the Perreiras are found guilty in the civil case, they could potentially have to pay over $6000 in fines that relate to the care of the cats.

Marion Perreira said Judge Radcliffe disapproves of how the town is going about the multiple proceedings. "He's mad at what they're doing at the taxpayer's expense," she said.

The Contract

Perreira also maintains that at the root of the issue is the February 2011 contract, which she said she and her son were forced into signing under threat of arrest and, furthermore, was not drafted by an attorney but rather a Stratford Animal Control officer.

Stratford town attorney Tim Bishop told Stratford Patch the contract did not originate from his office and "doesn't look at all like a lawyer wrote it up."

The contract granted the town permission to use a grant to clean the Frash Street home, which had , as one witness related Bishop. The cleaning occurred during the first week of March 2011.

Under the contract, the Perreiras received five cats back after the cleaning. However, as per the contract, the Perreiras were required to follow a strict veterinarian schedule and keep the house in a healthy living condition -- both of which they failed to do, according to court documents.

Bishop said if the Perreiras would simply give up custody to the town, the fines involved in the civil case could be dropped.