BROOKINGS A Brookings man convicted of felony cruelty to animals had his probation revoked Wednesday and was sent to the State Penitentiary in Sioux Falls where he faces additional felony and misdemeanor charges of abusing cats.
Cory Martinson, 34, was sent to the pen for the maximum sentence of two years by Circuit Court Judge Abigail Howard for violating the terms of his probation. He was granted credit for 318 days already served.
Martinson allegedly violated his probation by torturing and killing more cats in Sioux Falls, where he now faces four felony counts of cruelty to animals and six counts of neglect, abuse or mistreatment of an animal.
The conditions of his probation prevented him from owning or possessing any animals and states that Martinson admitted to possessing 6-7 cats, killing 3-4 cats, and severely injuring other cats.
Brookings County States Attorney Dan Nelson said revoking the probation was the right choice.
“In the animal abuse cases we’ve prosecuted in the last few years, the conduct in this case is the most severe. The judge appropriately imposed the maximum prison available for animal cruelty,” Nelson said.
Martinson was originally arrestedJuly 28, 2023, after volunteers at the Brookings Area Humane Society became suspicious of his interactions with them and contacted the Brookings Police Department.
According to Register reporting at the time, Martinson procured two cats from the Brookings Area Humane Society and two other cats in Sioux Falls with the intent of killing them. He received the cats over a period of two to three weeks each time giving different reasons why the previous cat died, including saying one cat was run over by a car.
Martinson choked the cats to death, according to court documents.
He was arrested again in March after a warrant was issued for his arrest in Minnehaha County, where police had again been alerted to his behavior by humane society employees.
According to reporting by the Sioux Falls Argus Leader, Martinson admitted to an animal control officer and his parole office that he had killed multiple cats after his conviction and while on probation. Court documents there allege Martinson maimed and beat and killed cats in his care.
The four felonies Martinson faces in Sioux Falls are the same charge he was convicted of in Brookings County Class 6 with a possible sentence of two years in prison, a $4,000 fine; or both. He also faces six Class 1 misdemeanors, which are punishable by up to a year in a county jail, a $2,000 fine; or both.
There are no hearings scheduled in Martinsons Minnehaha County case at this time.
Linehan is the Registers managing editor and welcomes comments at [email protected].
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