Ex-LA City Firefighter Sentenced To County Jail For Beating Woman Caring For Stray Cats

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — A former Los Angeles firefighter was sentenced Tuesday to 180 days in county jail for beating a woman who cared for stray cats in their West Adams neighborhood, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

Ian Justin Eulian, 39, was also sentenced to three years of formal probation, 25 days of Caltrans work and a year of anger management classes.

Eulian was found guilty on May 21 of one felony count each of battery with serious bodily injury and assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury.

Eulian had attacked Rebecca Stafford, who was inside her parked car, on Sept. 14, 2013 because she had been feeding stray cats in the neighborhood.

Security video shown during the trial Eulian leaned into the car and yelled at Stafford, who threw cat kibble back at him. He then punched her twice, pulled her out of her car and hit her again as she fell to the ground, where she ended up unconscious.

Eulian apologized to Stafford minutes before his sentence was handed down, turning to tell her, "I'm sorry."

He said his confrontation with Stafford, which occurred while he was off duty, is in "no way representative of the way I am," adding that he was "not proud of my actions."

"My emotions got the best of me," he said.

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