A Reno man accused in the fatal abuse of a kitten inside a San Francisco bank ATM vestibule has been charged with animal cruelty, prosecutors said Friday.
William Ohlson, 33, is charged with killing, maiming or abusing an animal; overdriving, overworking or overloading an animal; and resisting, obstructing or delaying a peace officer, according to the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office.
Ohlson is scheduled to appear in court Monday at 1:30 p.m. at the Hall of Justice.
The case has drawn criticism from those who say a California Supreme Court decision restricting pretrial detention largely to cases involving violence against people contributed to the suspect’s immediate release, renewing debate over what opponents describe as a “soft-on-crime” approach.
That state framework differs from federal law, including the 2019 PACT Act signed by President Donald Trump, which made certain acts of severe animal cruelty a federal felony.
Under California’s current limits on pretrial detention, any substantial prison sentence for Ohlson would depend on local prosecutors obtaining a felony conviction at trial.
ALSO READ: Patrick and Brittany Mahomes Join Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift at Former Chiefs Teammate’s Wedding
Authorities allege Ohlson entered a bank ATM vestibule in the 1800 block of Market Street at about 2 a.m. on July 1 while carrying a small kitten, then violently tortured the animal to death before leaving with it.
The alleged killing prompted an investigation by San Francisco Animal Care and Control and the San Francisco Police Department, which later located Ohlson at a hotel in the 100 block of Fell Street.
Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters
When officers served a search warrant on July 14, police said a Real Time Investigations Center Drone as First Responder operator spotted Ohlson fleeing from his room onto the roof of an adjacent building.
The suspect was eventually taken into custody after a rooftop standoff that brought in the San Francisco Fire Department, whose crews used a ladder truck to assist officers in safely reaching the roof.
Ohlson was booked into San Francisco County Jail No. 1 on animal abuse and resisting arrest charges, but he was released shortly afterward due to the state’s pretrial detention laws.
The investigation remains active.
