A Beaumont man has pleaded guilty to animal cruelty in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Brit Featherston.
Decorius Mire, 23, pleaded guilty to animal crushing on Tuesday before U.S. District Judge Marcia A. Crone, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Animal crushing is defined under federal criminal law as, “actual conduct in which one or more living non-human mammals, birds, reptiles or amphibians, is purposely crushed, burned, drowned, suffocated, impaled or otherwise subjected to serious bodily injury,” according to the release.
RELATED: Men face federal charges in connection with animal cruelty case
According to information presented in court on Oct. 15, 2021, Mire and a co-defendant saw a cat in the parking lot of a Beaumont apartment complex. The co-defendent, who was encouraged by Mire, then kicked the cat as if he were kicking a football — throwing it about 15 to 20 feet in the air. Mire then posted a video of the incident to social media, according to the news release.
Mire was indicted by a federal grand jury on Sep. 28, 2022 and faces up to seven years in federal prison at sentencing. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of presentence investigation by the U.S. Probation Office according to the news release.
megan.zapalac@beaumontenterprise.com
twitter.com/ZapalacMegan