Animal Control officers from the Savannah-Chatham police department have secured five cats and are looking for more and additional victims after a kitten from a neighborhood colony tested positive for rabies this week.
Nine potential victims have been identified as having contact with the infected kitten or other cats in the small feral colony that frequented yards near the 200 block of Winchester Drive on east Wilmington Island, said Julian Miller, police spokesman.
The cats were fed by neighbors but they were not provided medical treatment or vaccinations, said Miller and health department spokeswoman Sally Silbermann. Now, Animal Control officers are concerned for the safety of residents in the area and even their pets that might have been vaccinated.
Four additional cats were recovered by Animal Control on Thursday morning, but others were seen in the neighborhood, Miller said. Traps have been set for other cats and a raccoon that may have had exposure to the infected kitten last week.
“It’s a good idea to keep away from these cats as we get this colony removed,” said metro police Lt. Cary Hill, who commands Animal Control. “We don’t know how they might be affected if they come into contact with these cats or even other animals. Residents in the area should not handle or feed stray or unknown animals or wildlife. And anyone who has come into contact with the cats and/or wildlife in the area should contact us.”
People can be infected with rabies by contact with an infected animal ranging from a slight scratch to a bite. Anyone with concerns that they may have been exposed or who sees one of the homeless cats should call Animal Control at 912-351-6750 or Chatham County Environmental Health Division 912-356-2160.
3 charged after drugs, guns found in traffic stop
Three men were arrested and an assortment of drugs, drug paraphernalia and weapons were seized after police stopped a vehicle moving through an intensive patrol operation Wednesday afternoon in east Savannah.
One of them, said Savannah-Chatham police spokesman Julian Miller, was bitten by a K-9.
John James Monahan Jr., 20, of Dallas, Ga., was charged with possession of drug-related objects for use and having illegally tinted windows on his car. Kenneth Michael Robinson, 23, of the 1100 block of East 53rd Street, was charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Both of them and Napoleon Ramon Graham, 24, of an Eagle Street address, were charged with obstruction. Graham was transported to Memorial University Medical Center for a bite from a K-9 officer stemming from his resistance, Miller said.
The three men and a female were in a car with illegal degrees of window tinting driving slowly through a heavy patrol of the Edgemore-Sackville neighborhoods about 4 p.m., Miller said. Crime Suppression Unit officers on bicycles and in cars pursued it to Waters and 66th Street where they performed a traffic stop.
Each of the men initially refused to cooperate with police, Miller said.
The investigation into the assortment of drugs and weapons found in the vehicle is continuing, Miller said.
Reward upped for info in December slaying
Additional money has been added to the reward fund for information in the December homicide of Hector Brown and the assault of two other men in Savannah.
As much as $3,500 cash is available anonymously for information that leads to the arrest of the person or persons responsible for Brown’s death.
About 11:29 p.m. Dec. 7, Brown was killed as he and two other men left a party on the 1200 block of East 39th Street.
A light gray or light blue newer model four-door Chevrolet truck with tinted windows pulled up to the victims and started shooting.
Brown died while being transported to a hospital, and the other two men were treated for injuries.
CrimeStoppers and Savannah-Chatham police are still seeking information that will lead to the arrest of Brown’s assailant.
All information provided to CrimeStoppers is anonymous and can be reported 24/7. Tipsters can call CrimeStoppers at 912-234-2020, send an e-tip through SavannahChathamCrimeStoppers.org using the “report anonymously” link or text CRIMES (274637) and using the keyword CSTOP2020 before the message content.