Police: Youngwood pair left behind 3 cats, turtle, bearded dragon at apartment

Two former Youngwood residents are accused of leaving behind three cats, a bearded dragon and a turtle when they abandoned a borough apartment, according to police.

Emily Elizabeth Cisar and Jeffrey Andrew Houston, both 26, are charged with aggravated cruelty to animals and related offenses. Houston faces an additional charge for failing to update his address and employment status with state police as required under Megan’s Law for sex offenders.

Humane agents and Greensburg police were called to the North Fourth Street apartment on Jan. 5 to help an animal rescue group, according to court papers. The landlord told investigators that Cisar and Houston had abandoned the apartment weeks ago. The utilities were shut off in December.

The bearded dragon and turtle were found dead in their enclosures with no food, according to the complaint. The three cats were rescued. They did not have any food or water but a neighbor had been feeding them for a couple weeks, police said.

There were piles of garbage, decaying food and clothing covering the floor of every room of the apartment, according to the complaint. Cisar was arrested Thursday and is free on $50,000 unsecured bail. She could not be reached.

Houston had not been arraigned on the cruelty charges. He was being held in the Allegheny County Jail. It was unclear from online court records what was holding him there.

Neither suspect had an attorney listed in the new cases. Cisar’s preliminary hearing is set for Jan. 28.

Houston has twice before been charged with failing to register with state police after being convicted in Allegheny County in 2016 of indecent assault. He was sentenced to one year probation in that case.

In both of the failure to comply cases, in 2017 and 2018, he was sentenced to probationary terms, according to court records.