SALT LAKE CITY — Criminal charges have been dropped against a Murray man accused of abusing his ex-girlfriend's cat due to a lack of evidence, court records show.
In what was scheduled as a preliminary hearing on July 10, prosecutors asked the judge to dismiss the case without prejudice, meaning it could be filed again if more evidence becomes available, and their request was granted.
Shaun Snarr, 35, was charged earlier this year, but he was accused of abusing his former girlfriend's cat on July 23, 2022.
Charges for torture of a companion animal, a third-degree felony; violation of a protective order, a class A misdemeanor; and possession of drug paraphernalia, a class B misdemeanor, were all dismissed.
The charging documents said a former girlfriend asked to stay with Snarr while she was in town. During her stay, officers were later called to the home after she reported Snarr had abused her cat during an argument.
According to charges, Snarr then took the cat out of his apartment along with its food and litter box. Officers did not locate the cat, charges said, and the cat had still not been found over two years later.
Snarr was arrested while police were there and then released on the condition that he not talk to the woman, but charging documents allege that he sent the woman messages about the cat days after his arrest.
