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    Thursday, April 25, 2024

    Winchester police: Fourth person charged in cat hoarding incident

    The Winchester Police Department made a fourth arrest in connection to a cat hoarding investigation where officers found over 200 cats in a home in Winsted in June.

    Police charged Lee Manzone, 28, of Torrington with 106 counts of cruelty to animals and two counts of risk of injury to a minor. Manzone was arrested on an active warrant.

    The police received a report of a sick cat at a home on Moore Avenue in Winsted in June. The police responded to the home and found a strong odor of urine. Numerous cats were seen inside the house, police said.

    Officers found over 200 cats at the time of the complaint but were only able to verify the ownership of 106 of them, according to Winchester Police Chief William Fitzgerald.

    Eight people were living in the home, including James Thomen, 61, Laura Thomen, 53, Marissa O’Brien, 30, and two minors aged 10 and 6, police said.

    An investigation resulted in the arrests of James Thomen, Laura Thomen, and O’Brien in late October. Police said at the time an additional arrest warrant was pending. Police said Manzone’s arrest was the final one in relation to the case.

    Two children were removed from the home by the Department of Children and Families and placed in the custody of relatives, police said.

    Manzone is scheduled to appear in Torrington Superior Court on Nov. 28.

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