Accused Cat Butcher Free On Bond

Teen will be under house arrest, wear ankle bracelet until trial

The teen accused of being the South Florida cat butcher went home yesterday after a judge ruled that he should go free on bond.

Tyler Weinman has been held in jail since his arrest Sunday, as the court waited for the results of a psychiatric evaluation to come out.

Weinman, wearing handcuffs and sporting an inmate's outfit, appeared before Miami-Dade Circuit Judge John Thornton, who said Weinman "does not appear at risk of harming himself or others"  and is "competent to proceed."

Weinman is charged with 19 counts of animal cruelty, 19 counts of improperly disposing of an animal body and four counts of burglary in the spree of cat mutilations and killings throughout Cutler Bay and Palmetto Bay.

The 18-year-old also had to post a $249,500 bond to secure his release until he can be tried on the felony counts. He'll be released at some point today, but will be required to wear an electronic ankle bracelet and be under house arrest until his July 6 arraignment.

Weinman's dad, Doug, showed up at court today to support his son, claiming there's no way his boy could have killed the cats.

"I'm confident my son is innocent," the elder Weinman said.

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