By SPEAKIN’ OUT NEWS
A Birmingham man is under arrest after Homewood police said he threw five kittens from a moving vehicle on Interstate 65 near Lakeshore Parkway.
Police identified the suspect as Thomas Ronald Liccione, 21. He is charged with aggravated animal cruelty. Authorities said Liccione was booked into the Jefferson County Jail at 5 p.m. Sunday and released a short time later after posting a $15,000 bond.
Homewood police Sgt. Mark Trippe said officers received multiple 911 calls around 1 p.m. Saturday from witnesses reporting that someone was throwing kittens from a moving vehicle on I-65.
Officers responded quickly and found the vehicle described by witnesses on Lakeshore Drive. Police stopped the vehicle and detained the driver.
According to Trippe, multiple witnesses told officers they saw the driver, later identified as Liccione, throw five kittens out of the window while driving on the interstate. All five kittens were struck and killed by other vehicles.
The case has drawn outrage because of the cruelty alleged and the danger created on one of Alabama’s busiest highways. Animal cruelty cases often raise larger concerns about public safety, accountability, and the need for residents to report abuse immediately.