Animal Legislation
Scammer who tortured cats hit with state’s harshest animal abuse penalty
After a yearslong observe of torturing cats to create social media donation campaigns producing over $400,000 for almost 20 abused animals, a 27-year-old Virginia man has acquired 15 years in jail after pleading responsible to animal abuse and pc fraud. (Photograph from Shutterstock)
After a yearslong observe of torturing cats to create social media donation campaigns producing over $400,000 for almost 20 abused animals, a 27-year-old Virginia man has acquired 15 years in jail after pleading responsible to animal abuse and pc fraud.
Courthouse News Service has the story.
On Wednesday, Henrico County Circuit Decide Linda Lambert in Virginia accepted a plea agreement requiring that Rodney Travis Jr. obtain the state’s longest such sentence, prosecutors stated. The Chesterfield County, Virginia, resident didn’t communicate on the listening to.
The day earlier than, he additionally pleaded responsible in his dwelling county after residents alerted the native police, who contacted the state lawyer basic’s animal regulation unit of the suspected animal cruelty.
Travis used three Henrico, Virginia, motels to create footage of the cats for the fundraising movies. A witness informed police Feb. 13 that Travis had checked in at one lodge at 2 a.m. and left at 9:50 a.m.
Investigators discovered cat blood and hair, prompting them to acquire a search warrant for his residence the place they discovered six cats—certainly one of which has since died—in addition to cat beds coated in blood, a leather-based ebook of hexes and curses containing cat blood and fur, and a whiteboard spelling out the fraud’s particulars.
Through varied aliases, Travis posted movies of injured cats with captions, corresponding to “I don’t wish to lose my greatest good friend,” or “she’s all I’ve.”
Beforehand, Travis raised over $300,000 whereas in California beneath the guise of in search of gender affirming surgical procedure. No expenses have been filed.
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