AUSTIN, Texas — Austin police recognized the department’s Animal Cruelty Unit for handling a surge of cases during a severe winter freeze, with officers clearing dozens of warrants and making multiple arrests in a matter of weeks.
Commander Lichter honored the four-member unit after it handled 38 new cases between late January and early February, resulting in 50 warrants and five arrests.
One of those cases resulted in the arrest of a north Austin couple accused of abandoning eight kittens outside in freezing temperatures. ShaDiamond Emonie McQuieter, 22, and Jarrell Cordell Thomas, 25, were each charged with eight counts of animal cruelty…