Accused Animal Hoarder Back In Custody
RESEDA -- The woman accused of hoarding dozens of animals in the Tehachapi area has been taken into custody again after going missing for two months.
Anita Gilbert skipped town in August and missed a court date. She was located by a bail bondsman Thursday afternoon in Reseda and after a brief pursuit, the bondsman handcuffed her and handed her over to Los Angeles police.
"She's quite a character," Bob Herman, the bondsman, said.
It was an educated guess that led Herman to where Gilbert was found, he said. She was at a friend's home, and when she was being taken away, she called out to her friends to recover the cats in a motel room.
Herman and Ventura County animal control officers then responded to the Vagabond Inn in Oxnard, where 15 to 20 cats were found alive and one cat was found dead in a freezer.
Authorities also believe the name "Anita Gilbert" is not her real name, and that she stole the identity of a benevolent Florida woman who contributed to animal rights causes.
"Gilbert" has also used the identity of a Boston Globe journalist killed in Iraq, and also faces cruelty charges in Riverside County under another identity, Herman said.
She is currently in a jail in Lynwood awaiting transport back to Kern County, Sr. Dep. Michael Whorf with the Sheriff's department said. The Sheriff's department has five days to bring her here to Kern County to face charges, but have not released when they will transport her.
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