Ohio man must spend two days in jail for petting zoo cougars
Newell jumped an outer fence to gain access to another enclosure and called the cougars to him in order to pet them
Newell jumped an outer fence to gain access to another enclosure and called the cougars to him in order to pet them. PHOTO: TORONTOSUN
An Ohio man who posted a video of himself petting cougars at a Columbus zoo appealed no contest to a trespassing charge on Wednesday and has to spend two days in jail and pay more than $200 in fines, court documents said.
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Joshua Newell, 35, jumped an outer fence to gain access to another fenced-in enclosure and called the cougars to him in order to pet them, the documents said.
Newell then posted a nearly two-minute video of the encounter on YouTube where he enticed the animals by calling "Here, kitty, kitty" and "That's a good kitty."
Newell was charged last week with criminal trespassing, a misdemeanor. He was sentenced to four days in jail, with two days suspended.
A representative for the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium was not immediately available for comment.
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This is the second time this year that a zoo patron in the state was charged with trespassing. In June, Michelle Schwab was sentenced to a year of probation for a similar charge after dropping her two-year-old son into a cheetah exhibit at the Cleveland zoo in April.
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Joshua Newell, 35, jumped an outer fence to gain access to another fenced-in enclosure and called the cougars to him in order to pet them, the documents said.
Newell then posted a nearly two-minute video of the encounter on YouTube where he enticed the animals by calling "Here, kitty, kitty" and "That's a good kitty."
Newell was charged last week with criminal trespassing, a misdemeanor. He was sentenced to four days in jail, with two days suspended.
A representative for the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium was not immediately available for comment.
Read: Stuffed tiger strapped to SUV prompts 911 call in Washington state
This is the second time this year that a zoo patron in the state was charged with trespassing. In June, Michelle Schwab was sentenced to a year of probation for a similar charge after dropping her two-year-old son into a cheetah exhibit at the Cleveland zoo in April.