L.A. Firefighter, Mom Beat Woman for Feeding Cats

Sept. 24--A Los Angeles firefighter and his mother are facing charges that they beat a woman feeding stray cats in the West Adams district after she threw cat kibble at him during a verbal altercation.

Fire engineer Ian Justin Eulian, 37, and his mother Lonieta Antonietta Fontaine, 70, denied assaulting the 47-year-old woman just after midnight Sept. 14. But a surveillance camera captured the blows delivered by the pair to the victim, prosecutors said.

Eulian, who was off duty at the time, approached the woman, who was in her parked car in the 2500 block of West View Street in Los Angeles, about 12:20 a.m. and began a verbal altercation.

He then allegedly leaned into the victim's car and yelled at her about her feeding stray cats. The victim then "threw small pieces of cat kibble at Eulian to push him back, and he allegedly punched her," prosecutors said.

Fontaine then allegedly approached the car and "slapped the victim several times," prosecutors said. The beating then escalated, they said: "Eulian then pulled the victim out of her car and allegedly punched the victim once or twice more as she fell to the ground motionless."

When the victim regained consciousness, Eulian and Fontaine helped her back into her car and drove the woman to her home, prosecutors said. They allegedly told her that she had tripped and hit her face on the car.

But prosecutors say the incident was caught on surveillance cameras located on a nearby building.

They each face one felony count of battery with serious bodily injury and one felony count of assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury. Eulian also was charged with an enhancement for causing great bodily harm.

If convicted of all charges, Eulian faces up to seven years in state prison; Fontaine faces up to four years in state prison.

Eulian was arrested Monday and his mother on Tuesday. He is scheduled to be arraigned Oct. 17, and Fontaine is slated for arraignment Oct. 18 in downtown L.A.

Copyright 2013 - Los Angeles Times