Thurston County Man Arrested for Kitten Abuse Ordered Not to Go Near Cats for Two Years

A Thurston County man accused of repeatedly abusing a kitten in an Olympia store last year was ordered not to have contact with cats for the next two years and released from jail this week after reaching a plea agreement.

In August 2019, Thurston County Superior Court Commissioner Nathan Kortokrax found probable cause to charge Brian L. Kim, 49, with first-degree animal cruelty and set bail at $50,000.

According to a prosecutor's statement of probable cause, employees at the MetroPCS store on Cooper Point Road Southwest reported that Kim would come into the store often with a kitten.

One employee said he'd seen Kim strike the kitten's head on the counter and that he feared Kim would kill the animal. In another instance, an employee said, Kim "slapped" the kitten down on the counter and, when an employee told him not to put the kitten there, Kim picked up the kitten by the neck and screamed "See, nobody wants you!" at it before "slamming the kitten on the floor."

During the same episode, after being asked to leave the store, Kim allegedly picked the kitten up by its neck and screamed "I own you!" while squeezing the back of the cat's neck and stomach area.

"He then brought the kitten close to his face, screaming at it and began 'gnashing' his teeth in an attempt to bite it," according to charging documents.

Kim was arrested July 31, during his weekly sex offender check-in -- the Thurston County offender search lists Kim as a Transient Level 3 sex offender. Detectives found the kitten in a vehicle in direct sun, with trash filling most of the vehicle and no food or water for the animal.

According to court documents, Kim's criminal history includes a second-degree rape conviction in 2000 in which the victim was a man with Down syndrome, and a second-degree assault conviction in 2012 for strangling a woman.

Since his arrest, Kim went through two evaluations to determine whether he was competent to stand trial, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Megan Winder told The Olympian. He was found competent both times, she said.

Winder said she and Kim's defense attorney had been negotiating to come to a resolution in this case, and that Kim took "some responsibility" for what he did.

Kim had been in Thurston County Jail since his July arrest. On Feb. 19, he pleaded guilty to second-degree animal cruelty, a gross misdemeanor; jail records show he was released the same day, according to the Sheriff's Office.

Judge Christine Schaller sentenced Kim to 203 days in jail, which amounted to his time served, with 161 days suspended for two years. That amount of jail time is essentially held over Kim's head for the next two years and a judge can impose it if he violates conditions of his release.

Conditions of his release include that he cannot violate the law and cannot possess, own, reside with, or care for any cats for a period of two years.

"Mr. Kim has some challenges, I think, as evidenced by the fact that he had two competency evaluations," Winder said. "He has some challenges, but one of the things I was adamant about was he should not be having cats in any way, shape, or form."