GAINSVILLE, FLORIDA – A Gainesville woman was arrested Friday on allegations that she tried to get another woman to pay $20 to have her missing kitten returner and threatening to hurt the kitten if the money was not paid to her, police reported.
Madeleine Joan Kaye, 22, of 400 NW Third St., was charged with extortion/threats, her arrest report now states. In the report, she is listed as a student.
A woman who is in the same circle of friends with Kaye posted notices that her gray kitten was lost. On Thursday, Kaye sent the woman several text messages stating she had the kitten and wanted at least $20 or that “something bad” would happen to the kitten, the report states.
One text from Kaye said that the kitten in question was not being returned out of revenge for how the owner had treated a friend of Kaye’s.
Officer Frederick Munn reported that he met with Kaye on Friday in an effort to get the kitten back. However, Kaye denied all knowledge of the kitten.
After being read her Miranda rights, Kaye admitted to sending those text messages while out drinking with some friends, the report states.
“Defendant stated that the messages are representatives or examples of HUMOR,” Munn wrote in the report. “The defendant states that she has no knowledge of where the kitten is or what has happened to the kitten.”
