HENRICO COUNTY, Va. — A Chesterfield County man is facing four felony charges after Henrico police say he abused cats and used social media to fraudulently raise money for veterinary bills.
Rodney Travis Jr., 27, was arrested on charges including animal cruelty, obtaining money by false pretense and using a computer to commit fraud.
"There was an original felony animal cruelty, and then there were three subsequent felonies, an additional animal cruelty felony, an obtaining money by false pretense felony, and then the use of a computer to obtain the money through fraud," Commonwealth's Attorney Shannon Taylor said.
According to a criminal complaint obtained by CBS 6, multiple videos were posted on social media showing what appeared to be several cats in extreme distress over the past month.
When veterinarians reviewed the videos, they noted a grey striped cat named Hayden appeared to be bleeding from its mouth and nose, had head trauma, a broken jaw, was in respiratory distress and appeared to be under the influence of drugs.
The complaint says in the videos Travis asked for money, claiming the cat had cancer and only a certain number of days to live. Two pinned posts showed what officials say appeared to be fraudulent veterinary bills totaling more than $35,000.
The videos were later determined to have been filmed at the Candlewood Suites off Dickens Road in Henrico.
According to court documents, Travis then got a hotel room at the Residence Inn off Glenside Avenue on Feb. 13 around 2 a.m. Officials found blood splatter and smears in the hotel room, large amounts of cat hair and red stains that also appeared to be blood.
After he checked out later that morning, he was seen leaving wearing body armor with a gun on his side, holding a cat carrier and suitcase.
Officials executed a search warrant at Travis' home in Chesterfield, where they found Hayden and seven other cats. The animals were taken to a veterinarian for treatment.
Records show Hayden was found to have a fractured skull, multiple broken ribs and a fractured spine.
Travis was assigned court-appointed attorney Andrew Wood on Tuesday morning. CBS 6 reached out for comment and is waiting to hear back.
Travis is being held without bond at the Henrico County Jail and will appear in court March 26 for his preliminary hearing.
This is a developing story. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have additional information to share.
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