BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (AP) _ A central Illinois man was sentenced to 21/2 years in
prison after authorities say he starved more than 70 cats and dogs at his rural
McLean County home.
Thirty-year-old Curtis Cleary pleaded guilty to aggravated animal cruelty. He
also pleaded guilty to aggravated discharge of a firearm after investigators say
he fired a gun at his naked girlfriend as she ran down the driveway of his
Lexington home.
Investigators say dozens of decaying animal corpses were discovered in November
in the house’s basement and a nearby barn.
At Thursday’s sentencing in Bloomington, Cleary apologized and blamed his
struggles with alcohol and depression.
