Carson Zorn
•7/31/2026
A Lee County man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after being found guilty of mutilating two cats and leaving their severed heads in a box. According to the State Attorney's Office, Robert James Luther III, 38, was sentenced to five years in prison to be served consecutively on each of the four counts he was found guilty of: two counts of aggravated animal cruelty and two counts of aggravated stalking. The consecutive sentences bring Luther's total sentence to 20 years. Luther was convicted in May following a three-day trial. According to the SAO, the crime occurred on March 13, 2025, in Bonita Springs. A man saw a box sitting on top of his mailbox, and when he looked inside, he found two severed cat heads. The box was wet and smelled like gasoline. During the investigation, Lee County deputies confirmed that Luther had been near the scene and were able to determine that his van had been in the area the morning of the crime, the SAO said. The victim and his wife had been threatened by Luther for more than a year. Around the time of the crime, a deputy located Luther at a nearby car wash scrubbing his van, the SAO said. Surveillance footage from the car wash showed Luther scrubbing his van for three hours. Footage also showed Luther had a red gas can sitting on top of the van. The victim positively identified Luther, who was then arrested as he sat parked in his van behind a closed business. A search of Luther's van revealed multiple firearms, a pellet gun, a machete, a saw blade, dark clothes, and two rolls of duct tape. Deputies also searched Luther's phone and found a video of Luther shooting two cats in the woods. The cats in the video matched the heads found in the box, the SAO said. DOWNLOAD the free Gulf Coast News app for your latest news and alerts on breaking news, weather, sports, entertainment, and more on your phone or tablet. And check out the Very Local Gulf Coast app to stream news, entertainment and original programming on your TV.
