By JOEL PHELPS | arkadelphian.com
A New York woman hauling three dozen felines in a stolen U-Haul truck she wrecked last month is getting her cats back after a ruling from a Clark County judge.
Xinying Zhang was ordered Tuesday, March 11, 2025, to pay $2,500 in restitution to the Humane Society of Clark County, in addition to $340 in various court costs; a $750 fine was suspended under certain court conditions.
In a negotiated plea deal, Zhang entered a plea Tuesday of guilty to one count of the misdemeanor charge of unauthorized use of a vehicle.
Zhang was ordered at sentencing to pay 40% of the Humane Society restitution as a cash bond transfer and to pay the remaining balance within 90 days.
A Humane Society official said Zhang arrived at the animal shelter Wednesday afternoon to recover her 36 cats left in the shelter’s care since the day after her Feb. 11 arrest. She was held at the Clark County Detention Center until her release on Feb. 22, according to jail booking records.
Representing the state in the case was Prosecuting Attorney Dan Turner. Zhang’s attorney was Public Defender Joe Jackson. The case was presided over by 9th East Circuit Judge Blake Batson.
The original article is posted below:
36 cats saved from stolen U-Haul involved in I-30 wreck
By JOEL PHELPS | arkadelphian.com
The Humane Society of Clark County is meow in possession of an additional three dozen felines after a cat breeder was arrested following an attempted I-30 hit-and-run in a stolen U-Haul truck.
Trooper Matt Hall of the Arkansas State Police was dispatched Tuesday afternoon, Feb. 11, to the Caddo Valley exit ramp for an accident involving a U-Haul truck and another vehicle. Upon arrival he discovered a U-Haul truck parked partially in the roadway and impeding traffic.
Trooper Hall proceeded to collect information from the involved drivers and learned that the U-Haul driver had apparently refused to stop after side-swiping another vehicle. The reporting driver said he and the operator of an 18-wheeler “had to box [the U-Haul] in and force them to take the exit ramp.”
Retrieving the U-Haul’s tag number, Hall instantly noticed the license plate was a fictitious souvenir tag, and removed it to find a second tag out of Arizona. A check with a national criminal database showed the U-Haul had been reported stolen in Dallas, Texas.
The U-Haul driver, 41-year-old Xinving Zhang, who supplied a New York license, was asked to step out of the vehicle right meow, and was ultimately placed under arrest for various charges, including theft by receiving and leaving the scene of an accident.
During the arrest, Zhang informed Hall that she had “several cats in the cargo box in the rear of the U-Haul,” according to a police affidavit. Beene’s Towing & Recovery had arrived by meow, and Hall directed the U-Haul be moved to a nearby parking lot for safety and to check on the felines’ welfare. Hall, who initially counted 18 cats in the cargo area, decided to leave the cats in the U-Haul for meow until they could be transported to a shelter. Beene’s took possession of both the U-Haul and the cats, the affidavit said.
Hall directed a sheriff’s deputy to transport Zhang to the county jail while he attempted to find placement for the animals, contacting 15 different agencies that could accept them, but apparently had difficulty securing a location until he paid a visit to the Humane Society the following morning.
Shelter officials counted a final tally of 37 cats, one of which had perished — possibly as a result of crates being knocked about during the accident.
“They were all over the place,” said Whitney Womble, HSCC director. “They were in cages behind cages that had fallen over.” Some of the felines needed immediate veterinary care, Womble said, while shelter officials were able to administer care to others.
It remains unclear whether the felines will be returned to Zhang or if they will ultimately be surrendered to the shelter. That’s a decision the local judicial system will likely make in coming days or weeks. The cats will remain in the Humane Society’s care for meow, Womble said, iterating that they may not be available for adoption unless a judge determines they should be surrendered.
Zhang remained in custody Thursday morning at the Clark County Detention Center, where she is meow being held on a $10,000 bond.
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