Accused Asbury Park cat rapist Bani J. Mezquititla to undergo psychiatric evaluation

FREEHOLD A judge Tuesday ordered a psychiatric evaluation for an Asbury 
Park man accused of raping, torturing, mutilating, handcuffing and killing 
his pet cat to determine if he is competent to proceed to trial on animal 
cruelty charges.

At a conference before Superior Court Judge Chad N. Cagan, defense 
attorney William Wackowski asked for his client, Bani J. Mezquititla, 18, 
to be evaluated.

Wackowski said that considering the allegations and evidence against his 
client, "how could competency not be a question and concern?''

Sevan Biramian, an assistant Monmouth County prosecutor, disagreed.

"There's no bonafide reason to question competency,'' Biramian said. 
"There's a willful confession. There's videographic evidence that goes 
against any notion that this defendant is incompetent.''

However, Cagan said prosecutors raised the issue of Mezquititla's mental 
health when arguing at his detention hearing in March that he is 
dangerous.

"The court finds, based on the circumstances and the record that's been 
presented before me, that there is a doubt as to his fitness to proceed, 
and the court is going to grant the defendant's motion to have the 
defendant evaluated for fitness to proceed,'' Cagan said.

Mezquititla is charged with two counts of third-degree animal cruelty, 
each carrying potential prison terms up to five years. One of the charges 
alleges that Mezquititla tormented, tortured or abused his cat, Ellie, 
resulting in her death. The other charge alleges he used the animal in a 
sexual manner.

More: Grand jury charges Asbury Park man with raping and killing his pet 
cat

Biramian, at Mezquititla's detention hearing, alleged that the defendant 
confessed to the abuse, saying it began in December when he started 
masturbating in front of the pet. The conduct escalated to repeated 
incidents of sexual intercourse with the pet as well as sexually violating 
her with a pencil, Biramian alleged.

In addition, Mezquititla is accused of torturing Ellie by repeatedly 
strangling her with a pulley device consisting of a phone-charger cord, 
door knob and dresser knob, watching her struggle to breathe as he yanked 
the cord up and down.

Mezquititla bound the cat's paws behind her back with miniature handcuffs 
during the torture, Biramian has alleged. He also cut off her tongue and 
part of her jaw while still alive, and threw her out of his apartment 
window once she was dead, the assistant prosecutor has alleged.

In reaching his decision that the defendant should undergo an evaluation, 
Cagan cited the words of Superior Court Judge Henry P. Butehorn, who 
presided over the detention hearing and ordered Mezquititla held without 
bail to await trial.

Butehorn, at the hearing, said Mezquititla explained his handcuffing of 
the cat as pretending to be a police officer and arresting the animal for 
having run away, Cagan noted.

More: 'I'm not a psycho': Asbury Park man accused of raping and killing 
pet cat told cops

Cagan also noted the other allegations, including that Mezquititla 
sexually penetrated the cat, violated her with a pencil and dissected 
parts of her face while she was still alive,

Butehorn at the March hearing said Mezquititla's alleged acts showed "a 
depravity of mind that goes well beyond the animal cruelty statute,'' 
Cagan noted.

Mezquititla was arrested March 2 after he told his roommate the cat had 
run away, but then changed his story to say he threw the pet out of their 
apartment window. The roommate went outside, retrieved the animal's corpse 
and brought it to the Asbury Park Police Department.

Authorities then found video and photos of the abuse - some allegedly 
showing Mezquititla smirking as Ellie was struggling to breathe while 
being strangled.

The only plea offer on the table is for the defendant to plead guilty to 
both cruelty charges in exchange for a five-year prison sentence.

Cagan scheduled the next conference in the case for July 18.

Kathleen Hopkins, a reporter in New Jersey since 1985, covers crime, court 
cases, legal issues and just about every major murder trial to hit 
Monmouth and Ocean counties. Contact her at [email protected]

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Accused Asbury Park 
cat rapist to undergo psych evaluation

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/accused-asbury-park-cat-rapist-
092633941.html