Batavia catnapper pleads guilty; gets fine, court supervision

A Batavia woman accused of swiping a next-door neighbor's cat and abandoning it in rural Kane County pleaded guilty Tuesday to misdemeanor theft.

Brenda Scharlau, 56, of the 100 block of North Harrison Street, entered the plea in Kane County Circuit Court in exchange for 12 months of court supervision, $200 in fines and $600 in restitution for the cat's owner, Jody Lay.

Scharlau was charged in late June after police said she bragged at a neighborhood party about stealing Lay's 9-year-old cat, named Linus, and dumping it in the Virgil Township area the month before. Police said Scharlau disliked the cat, which remains missing, because it "captured and killed" birds and chipmunks.

"All in all, I'm just glad it's over, and we can move on," Lay said Tuesday. "I just hope Linus comes home now."

Scharlau declined to comment as she left court, but her attorney said she, too, wants to "put this behind her." "These neighborhood disputes are difficult because these people still have to live in close proximity to each other," defense attorney Douglas Cuscaden said.

The Kane County state's attorney's office said prosecutors worked with Lay on the terms of Tuesday's plea deal, which also prevents Scharlau from contacting her. Officials said the restitution represents the cost of another cat, declawing and shots.

"I guess I'm kind of disappointed a little bit because I wanted her to get some community service," Lay said. "But I never really wanted anything too out of line. I don't even know what the harshest penalty possible is. I've never heard of someone her age doing something like this."

Scharlau, who had no prior criminal record, could have been sentenced to up to a year in jail if convicted at trial. Her attorney declined to discuss specifics of the case, but said Lay deserved credit for being "very reasonable."

"Probably what allowed us to put this in the past was the victim. She was very reasonable, and my client appreciates that," Cuscaden said. "Were there problems between the two? Yes. But my client would be the last one to indicate that would be a basis for anything that took place here."

Lay said she continues to receive reports of potential Linus sightings, and follows up on each one. She also checks in routinely with the county's animal control office for any update on Linus.

"He really was one in a million," Lay said.