BROOKINGS — A Brookings man accused of strangling three cats was arrested by officers with the Brookings Police Department on Friday.

Cory Martinson, 33, is facing three counts of cruelty to animals, according to a probable cause statement from the Brookings County State’s Attorney’s Office. Each charge is a Class 6 felony, punishable by up to two years in prison and/or a $4,000 fine.

BPD officers located and interviewed Martinson, BPD Detective Adam Smith wrote in a news release on Monday, and he admitted to “taking their lives by choking them.”

According to information from the probable cause statement and Smith, Martinson procured two of the cats from the Brookings Area Humane Society and two other cats in Sioux Falls with the intent of killing them. He received the cats over the last two to three weeks. Each time he gave different reasons for why the previous cat had died, including saying one cat was run over by a car.

Martinson remained in the Brookings County Detention Center as of Monday afternoon.