A Monticello man charged after authorities found dozens of cats living in filthy conditions inside his trailer last summer has been sentenced.

David Nelson, 68, was sentenced June 16 after being convicted of felony animal cruelty. He received four days in the Wright County Jail, to be served over one weekend, two years of supervised probation and a $50 fine. As a condition of probation, he is prohibited from owning companion animals.

Nelson received a stay of imposition, meaning that if he successfully completes probation, the felony conviction may be reduced to a misdemeanor under Minnesota law.

As part of a plea agreement accepted by Wright County District Judge Elizabeth Strand in May, Nelson entered an Alford plea, under which a defendant maintains innocence while acknowledging prosecutors have sufficient evidence to likely secure a conviction. Strand imposed the sentence June 16. Two misdemeanor charges alleging deprivation of food and shelter and animal abandonment were dismissed.

The charges stemmed from a July 2025 investigation at Nelson's trailer in River Terrace Park.

Wright county deputies found dozens of cats living amid piles of feces, with no visible food or water and an odor so overpowering that one deputy wrote it burn[ed] his lungs. Neighbors told authorities there were about 42 cats inside the trailer and reported that about 11 dead cats had been disposed of the week before deputies arrived. Authorities said the conditions were consistent with animal hoarding.

On Aug. 6, 2025, Wright County sheriff's deputies and the Animal Humane Society executed a search warrant at the trailer and removed a large number of cats from the residence. The Animal Humane Society took custody of the animals and worked to find them new homes.

In addition to serving four days in jail, Nelson must complete two years of supervised probation, remain law-abiding and complete cognitive skills training as directed. Restitution remains to be determined.