Two women accused of animal cruelty after police find 23 animals in their Knoxville apartment

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Two women are facing animal cruelty charges after Knoxville police said they had 23 animals living in their studio apartment.

Jazmin Garcia, 18, and Skyla Whisenant, 20, were both arrested on 23 counts of animal cruelty.

According to a warrant for Garcia and Whisenant's arrests, police were called to their apartment on Magnolia Avenue on Wednesday around 10:15 p.m. for a report of a fire. When officers arrived, the warrant said they saw Garcia and Whisenant removing animals from their apartment and putting them into two vehicles.

Once concerns of a fire were cleared, the warrant said officers stood outside the open doorway to the small studio apartment and saw "animal feces, cages, trash, food, sand and various objects scattered throughout the apartment, creating extr