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An ugly confrontation over feeding stray cats may lead to jail time for a Los Angeles Fire Department employee and his 70-year-old mother.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office announced today that it is charging Ian Justin Eulian, 37, and Lonieta Antonietta Fontaine, 70, with one felony count each of battery with serious bodily injury and assault.
The two allegedly confronted the 47-year-old victim, who has not been identified, in the 2500 block of West View Street about 12:20 a.m. on September 14. That's near the 10 Freeway La Brea Avenue exit.
The victim was in her car when they began arguing about the cats, police say.
Eulian, who was off duty at the time, according to the LA Times, allegedly punched the woman after she threw cat kibble at him. His mother reportedly slapped the woman several times. The Times reports that the 12-year LAFD veteran then "pulled the victim out of her car and allegedly punched the victim once or twice more as she fell to the ground motionless."
The two helped the woman back into her car after she regained consciousness and drove her home. They tried to convince her that she had tripped and hit her face on the car, but fortunately the attack was caught on surveillance cameras on a nearby building.
Neighbors told CBS 2 that the victim regularly feeds stray cats and dogs in the area every night, but that she never bothers anyone and is friendly.
"I still don't understand why [Eulian] would do something like that," said area resident Curtis Harman.
"We know him around here, but now he's a piece of mess to us," neighbor David Fuller told CBS. "He's a fireman! He's supposed to get us outta houses. He's a criminal to us."
Eulian is set to be arraigned October 17 and faces up to seven years in state prison if convicted of all charges, according to the District Attorney's Office. He's been placed on administrative detail, CBS reports.
His mother is scheduled to be arraigned October 18 and faces a maximum of four years in state prison if convicted.
