Bellevue man accused in animal cruelty case appears in court

PAPILLION, Neb. (WOWT) - A Sarpy County man accused of animal cruelty made his first appearance in court Tuesday morning.

Deyjion Jefferson, 24, has been charged with one count of intentional animal cruelty.

A police affidavit states his wife allegedly received pictures of him beating her cats Sunday evening. They appeared to be injured and possibly deceased. Jefferson allegedly messaged her saying he felt bad about what he did and sent her a video afterward showing they were injured.

Nebraska Humane Society officials were called to his Bellevue apartment to join police. He reportedly told them he injured the cats because he was stressed earlier in the day and used a wooden back scratcher to hit the cats about 10 times.

NHS confirmed to 6 News that one cat died; the other is being treated at the Humane Society for serious injuries.

After mentioning he was stressed, Jefferson allegedly told an officer he occasionally used marijuana and pointed to an ashtray that held smoked blunts in his kitchen. A marijuana grinder was also found by an officer in his apartment before Jefferson was arrested.

Jefferson’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for November. His bond is set at $10,000.

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