The South Beach hotel clerk accused of killing Strushie, a popular Miami Beach neighborhood cat, was deported to Greece before the start of his trial.
The Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office said Georgios Kollias, 37, was deported on Nov. 29, the Miami Herald reported. He was taken by immigration officials from a Miami-Dade jail 12 days after he was arrested in July. After spending four months in a federal detention center, he was put on a plane to his native Greece.
“A lot of citizens were very concerned about this case,” Miami-Dade Chief Assistant State Kathleen Hoague told the Miami Herald. “We were looking forward to proving this case – and we had good evidence against him.”
Lollias was accused of shooting arrows into Strushie outside a Miami Beach hotel. He pleaded not guilty to animal cruelty and tampering with evidence charges.
Lollias was arrested in July for the April shooting of Strushie, a popular cat that roamed the area outside the Franklin Hotel at 860 Collins Avenue.
Miami Beach Police said Lollias used a crossbow to shoot Strushie. The cat was later found with arrows in its head and neck, and was taken to a local vet where he had to be euthanized. Officials obtained surveillance video from outside the hotel, which they say was deleted from the time of the alleged incident. Miami Beach Police received assistance from a U.S. Secret Service task force to retrieve the deleted footage and identify Lollias, officials said.
Lollias later admitted to detectives that he did shoot the cat, police said.
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The killing of Strushie sparked outrage in the animal rights community and a reward for an arrest in the case reached $27,000.
