25-44 82nd St.
Jan. 8, 2019 By Christian Murray
An East Elmhurst woman–convicted last March of animal cruelty– faces between eight to 25 years in prison for pushing a probation officer down a flight of stairs in August while checking up on her.
Elizabeth Grant, 50, attacked the officer while yelling racist and sexist remarks, after the probation officer caught Grant hoarding more animals, in violation of her probation, according to the Queens District Attorney’s office.
Grant was arraigned Monday on a 43-count indictment and was ordered held without bail on violation of the probation charges and is scheduled to reappear in court on March 19. She was charged with assaulting an officer, second degree assault, assault as a hate crime and for the torture or injuring of animals.
Grant was convicted in March 2018 of 108 counts of animal cruelty for failing to take care of her 54 pets. She was later sentenced to three years’ probation and prohibited from owning animals for 10 years. She was also ordered to take mental health counseling and to comply with unannounced visits for animal checks.
A probation officer arrived at Grant’s 25-44 82nd St. home on Aug. 29 and noticed a foul smell coming from the home and started to go inside.
Grant confronted her.
“You can’t come in here,” Grant said to her. “You don’t have a warrant, my case is on appeal.”
Grant also started to make derogatory sexual and racial comments about the officer, the district attorney’s office said.
There were cats running around the ground floor of the home, including some that looked underweight, the district attorney’s office said. When the officer started to take pictures of the animals with her cellphone, Grant tried to grab the phone away.
The officer went up to the second floor and entered a bedroom. Inside, she saw a number of underweight dogs, the district attorney’s office said.
When the officer began to go back down the stairs, Grant allegedly came up from behind her and pushed her. The officer tumbled down the stairs, twisting her back.
Soon afterward, the police and the ASPCA executed a search warrant at Grant’s home.
The officers reported that the house was filled with flies and there was no air flow or air conditioning in the home. The temperature that day was in excess of 90 degrees.
The officers recovered seven dogs, including three puppies; a cat; two rabbits; two guinea pigs and two fish. They also rescued two turtles, which had been found inside of an aquarium in the bathtub, which was filled with dirty water.
