Man charged in connection to disappearing cats in Jacksonville now accused of trying to drown cat in bathtub – FirstCoastNews.com WTLV-WJXX

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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — *Warning: Details of this story may be disturbing to some.
A Jacksonville man previously arrested in connection to missing cats later found dead in the Springfield neighborhood has been charged with an additional count of animal cruelty, according to police records.
Blake Miles, 35, was initially arrested on charges of animal cruelty and petit theft. He is now being charged with an additional count of animal cruelty in relation to what police believe was an attempted drowning of a cat.
According to a police report, a witness told the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office that his roommate’s cat had been tortured and caused unnecessary suffering at the hand of Miles.
He advised that several months back that Miles had entered the residence with another tenant and asked to use the restroom. A few minutes later, the complainant says they heard a loud thump inside the bathroom. Several minutes later, Miles reportedly exited the bathroom and the complainant found a cat in the bathtub “clinging for life”. 
The cat was described as being soaked and unable to move. Additionally, the cat’s owner told police that the cat was found covered in feces.
The animal was nursed back to health for six hours before he was able to move again, according to the complainant.
The complainant said when he heard about the mutilation and torture of cats in the Springfield area, he immediately thought of Miles and entered a Crime Stoppers tip.
Police say they acted on the tip and were able to make an arrest based on scratch marks on the shower curtain and cat hair in the shower rings.
In November, police say tips were received via a neighborhood group that a man by the name of either “Blake” or “Will” was living in a rooming house behind a store located at E 3rd Street and N Market Street. The man reportedly matched the physical description of the suspect in the animal abuse incidents, police say.
Police responded, and a witness confirmed that Miles lived there. The witness also noted that during the time that Miles lived there, there were several incidents with Miles. 
The details of those incidents are redacted in the police report.
However, the witness told police that the suspect found whatever these incidents were to be “humorous.”
Springfield resident Margaret Taylor spoke with First Coast News after she said she found two dead cats in a canvass bag in a dumpster.
“We started noticing that were so many cats missing all of a sudden, so we started putting the word out asking people to check their cameras,” Taylor said.
Dana Minyard, who lives in Springfield, wrote online that his beloved cat of 14 years was one of the cats found in the dumpster, “mutilated.” 
Another neighbor told First Coast News Springfield had a “serial cat killer” on the loose.
JSO is continuing to follow-up on similar cases in the area to determine if Miles is involved. If you have information about additional incidents, call police.
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