Lee County Sheriff's Office seizes 28 cats; 2 charged in animal cruelty case

Two residents of Lee County were arrested and charged Friday in connection to an ongoing animal cruelty investigation by the Lee County Sheriff's Office.

Deputies began investigating a home in Broadway in early June after the Broadway Police Department asked for their help looking into a tip about animal cruelty.

Deputies visited the home on 101 Burgess Circle in Broadway and then obtained a search warrant. On Thursday, with the assistance from several other departments including Lee County Animal Control, authorities seized 28 cats and took them to the shelter.

They are being held at the shelter until the courts decide what to do with them.

Patty Ann Booth, 64, and Cody Anthony Karnes, 33, who live at the home, were arrested and each charged with two counts of cruelty to animals, two counts of failure to produce a rabies vaccine and two counts of improper disposal of dead domesticated animals.