MIAMI (AP) — A judge ordered a 19-year-old to serve five years of probation and community service as punishment for setting a caged animal on fire and feeding it to his dogs.
Prosecutors had sought jail time for Roberto Hernandez, of South Florida, after the acts were caught on surveillance video, saying the animal was a stray cat and calling it a “brutal case.”
The Miami Herald reported that Circuit Judge Nushin Sayfie said she believed Hernandez, who claimed the animal was actually a rabid raccoon that reportedly had been attacking farm animals.
Sayfie said that although she doesn’t think a raccoon should be treated that way, she based her decision on Hernandez’s age and the fact that prosecutors rarely seek such jail sentences for first-time offenders charged with third-degree felonies.
Hernandez had no prior criminal history.
(Copyright (c) 2024 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)