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Case #1160 Rating: 2.7 out of 5
Rabbits burned, decapitated
Pasadena, TX (US)Incident Date: Thursday, Mar 20, 2003
County: Harris
Disposition: Convicted
Defendants/Suspects:
» 14 year old boy
» 14 year old boy
» 16 year old boy
Case Updates: 1 update(s) available
Three teenagers were arrested in Pasadena in connection with the rabbit that was tortured and killed March 20.
Pasadena police concluded their investigation by taking into custody two 14-year-old males, both charged with one count of animal cruelty and one count of theft, and a 16-year-old male, charged with Class B theft, police said.
A neighbor witnessed the 14-year-olds set fire to a rabbit and then decapitate it while it was still alive.
The case was officially closed at the time of the incident when the Harris County district attorney's office decided not to press charges, claiming that the rabbit was wild and not protected by law.
The teens told the officer at the scene that they found the rabbit in the wild. The rabbit actually belonged to Stephen Vandiver, who reported seven of his rabbits stolen from his Pasadena home the day before.
Vandiver called Cherrybrook Place apartments looking for his missing rabbits after being tipped off by a story published in The Pasadena Citizen March 25.
The connection between Vandiver's missing rabbits and the tortured rabbit was made by police when a little girl living at Cherrybrook Place apartments came to police with information.
She reported that a 16-year-old neighbor had given her a rabbit and told her it was stolen. The 16-year-old male living in the Cherrybrook Place apartments was also taken into custody Thursday night. Vandiver recovered nine of his rabbits, however, five are still missing, one was burned and two are dead, police said.
One rabbit was found dead hanging from the fence of the Cherrybrook Place apartments Wednesday. All three teenagers are in juvenile detention waiting to be assigned to a district court.
In Texas, any juvenile convicted of animal cruelty is required to undergo psychological or psychiatric counseling.
The punishment for being convicted of Class A misdemeanor of animal cruelty can range from probation to one year confinement and/or a maximum $4,000 fine.
Case Updates| The three Pasadena teenagers charged in connection with the tortured rabbit will appear in court April 14. | | Update posted on Apr 7, 2003 - 6:39AM |
References« TX State Animal Cruelty Map
« More cases in Harris County, TX
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