Page 14 - IAV Digital Magazine #459

iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine
Elderly Woman Accused of Training Her 65 Cats to Steal From Neighbors
The Columbus Police Department opened an investigation on Ruth Gregson and her 65 cats in October after several neigh- bors
reported small objects being stolen from their homes.
Several victims reported being visited by Ms. Gregson’s cats before noticing the disappear- ance of several shiny objects, like valuable cutlery and pieces of jewel- ry.
Despite their skepticism, investigators be gan a surveil- lance operation and were amazed by what
they discovered.
According to Columbus Police Chief Kim Jacobs, dozens of cats were constantly com- ing and going, bringing home “anything that shined”.
Upon searching Ms. Gregson’s house, investi- gators found $650,000 worth of jewelry and precious metal among piles
of worthless shiny baubles.
A total of 65 adult cats and 17 kittens were found on the site and entrust- ed to the Columbus Humane Society.
Chief Jacobs
says the elderly woman con- fessed to train- ing her cats to steal, saying the felines had to “earn their meals”.
According to the Columbus Police, Ms. Gregson’s ani- mals could have stolen from more than 5,000 houses and apartment in the
area, and inves- tigators invite possible victims to contact them.
While
Ms. Gregson is the first person in American his- tory to be accused of train- ing cats to steal, this isn’t the first time that ani- mals are trained to commit crimes.
In 2009, a sur- veillance that caught a mon- key stealing hundreds of dol- lars worth of plants from a Texas nursery.
At the time, the police and store owners had hypothesized that the mon- key had been trained to take the plants and hand them over
afencetoa waiting human accomplice.
In 2013, a Chicago court sentenced a man to five years in prison for training fer- rets to steal cell phones from people on the street and on public buses.
iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine