Four felony counts, including animal cruelty, were filed on Monday against a transient who allegedly broke into a Bel Air residence and killed the homeowner's two pet parakeets.
Paul Kiyan, described as being from the Los Angeles area, pleaded not guilty to one count each of first-degree residential burglary with a person present and vandalism, along with two counts of cruelty to an animal, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.
Officers were sent to the home in the 1000 block of Casiano Road about 2:30 p.m. last Thursday regarding a burglary suspect and located Kiyan, who had been detained by private security personnel, the Los Angeles Police Department reported.
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The homeowner told police he had received a call from his wife, saying that a naked man was inside their home, and she had viewed him on the family's close-circuit security cameras, according to the LAPD.
The husband confronted the suspect and police were called in -- but not before the suspect had put on a pair of the homeowner's shorts and began eating and drinking food from the kitchen area, police said.
Police allege Kiyan entered the Bel Air home through the garage by removing the garage door opener from the victim's unlocked vehicle outside. He allegedly inflicted at least $1,500 worth of property damage and “strangled the victim's pet birds, killing them,” police said.
“I saw what he did to them,” homeowner Mat Sabz said. “Like a serial killer, he said `Hi birdies,' with a smile and put his hands in the cage and squeezed them, and then dropped them on the floor violently and then started stomping on them.”
Kiyan was arrested that afternoon and has remained behind bars since then, jail records show.
“Pets are part of our extended family and the loss of a pet -- let alone two -- can be devastasting,” District Attorney George Gascon said in a statement announcing the charges against Kiyan.
