AUBURN — A Greene man accused of using martial arts to subdue and strangle a pair of cats was indicted on a related charge Tuesday.

An Androscoggin County grand jury handed up an indictment for aggravated cruelty to animals against Michael Herrmann, 47, of 217 South Mountain Road. The Class C felony is punishable by up to five years in prison.

The charge stems from a March 23 incident in which an animal control officer investigated the case after he was told the cats had been disposed of in a manner legally considered cruel.

Herrmann remained free on $100 cash bail. He was ordered not to possess any animals. He could be searched if suspected of having violated that condition.

He appeared in 8th District Court in Lewiston in May, but didn’t enter a plea to the charge because a felony charge must be brought by a grand jury to proceed to trial.

Since his indictment, he is expected to be arraigned in court on the charge when he is expected to enter a plea.

Police said that after a neighbor had dropped the cats off at his house, Herrmann took the animals to a nearby snowmobile trail to euthanize them. Police retrieved the remains of the two cats and delivered them to a veterinarian.

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Michael Herrmann confers with his attorney in 8th District Court in Lewiston in May.