Current:Home > FinancePoinbank Exchange|A Texas man is sentenced for kicking a cat that prosecutors say was later set on fire -Ascend Finance Compass
Poinbank Exchange|A Texas man is sentenced for kicking a cat that prosecutors say was later set on fire
Indexbit View
Date:2025-04-10 13:46:27
Beaumont,Poinbank Exchange Texas (AP) — A Texas man has been sentenced to more than three years in prison after pleading guilty to kicking a cat that court records say was later set on fire.
Documents in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas show Donaldvan Williams of Beaumont was sentenced Tuesday to 40 months in prison as part of an agreement in which he earlier pleaded guilty to animal crushing, aiding and abetting.
The attorney for Williams, 30, did not immediately return a phone call for comment.
Federal prosecutors worked with Texas state prosecutors to determine whether to file charges in state or federal court, according to Davilyn Walston, spokesperson for U.S. Attorney Damien Diggs.
“A lot of times, when you have offenders that are particularly egregious ... the state penalties aren’t as harsh,” Walston said.
Williams could have faced as little as ( two years in prison if convicted of animal torture or cruelty under Texas law.
He was charged under the federal Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act, which prohibits harm to animals and bans videos of animal cruelty.
The documents say Williams and Decorius Mire found the cat in a parking lot in October 2021 and Williams kicked the animal like a football while Mire recorded the kick with his cell phone and later posted the video on social media.
The indictment in the case states that a third unknown, person set the cat on fire shortly after it was kicked 15-20 feet.
Mire also pleaded guilty as part of a plea agreement and was sentenced in July 2023 to 18 months in prison.
veryGood! (9)
Related
- Rylee Arnold Shares a Long
- 5 things people get wrong about the debt ceiling saga
- DEA moves to revoke major drug distributor's license over opioid crisis failures
- How a cat rescue worker created an internet splash with a 'CatVana' adoption campaign
- Nevada attorney general revives 2020 fake electors case
- Adele Is Ready to Set Fire to the Trend of Concertgoers Throwing Objects Onstage
- A Dream of a Fossil Fuel-Free Neighborhood Meets the Constraints of the Building Industry
- US Emissions Surged in 2021: Here’s Why in Six Charts
- A Mississippi company is sentenced for mislabeling cheap seafood as premium local fish
- The Summer I Turned Pretty Cast Reveals Whether They're Team Conrad or Team Jeremiah
Ranking
- Questlove charts 50 years of SNL musical hits (and misses)
- Pregnant Kourtney Kardashian Shows Off Her Baby Bump Progress in Hot Pink Bikini
- Do dollar store bans work?
- Mauricio Umansky Shares Family Photos With Kyle Richards After Addressing Breakup Speculation
- Meta releases AI model to enhance Metaverse experience
- Environmental Groups Are United In California Rooftop Solar Fight, with One Notable Exception
- Why Jennifer Lopez Is Defending Her New Alcohol Brand
- With Epic Flooding in Eastern Kentucky, the State’s Governor Wants to Know ‘Why We Keep Getting Hit’
Recommendation
Federal hiring is about to get the Trump treatment
One Year Later: The Texas Freeze Revealed a Fragile Energy System and Inspired Lasting Misinformation
Does the U.S. have too many banks?
The New York Times' Sulzberger warns reporters of 'blind spots and echo chambers'
Trump issues order to ban transgender troops from serving openly in the military
You Won't Believe How Much Gymnast Olivia Dunne Got Paid for One Social Media Post
One Year Later: The Texas Freeze Revealed a Fragile Energy System and Inspired Lasting Misinformation
Does Michael Jordan Approve of His Son Marcus Dating Larsa Pippen? He Says...