Stray cat shot, decapitated and skinned
Waco, TX (US)Incident Date: Friday, Mar 9, 2001
County: McLennan
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged:
» Clint Bowers
» Derek Brehm
Case Updates: 1 update(s) available
Two Baylor student-athletes were arrested by Waco police last month and charged with animal cruelty after they allegedly shot, decapitated and skinned a stray cat named Queso.
Brehm, of San Antonio, and Bowers, a Waco native, were released from jail after paying $2,000 bail each. Waco police, responding at 4 a.m. to a call of a firearm discharge, found blood on the door of Bowers' Chevrolet Tahoe. That led to a subsequent search of the truck, where police uncovered a severed, skinned cat's head and a pellet gun.
"I feel this is the appropriate course of action," Smith said. "What Derek and Clint are charged with is unacceptable conduct for a Baylor baseball player. They are both being held accountable for their behavior.
"I am not being insensitive to animals, and there is no question that what they did was wrong," said Smith, last year's Big 12 Coach of the Year. "They exercised poor judgment. But the whole issue has been completely overblown. What they literally did was shoot a cat. They did not torture the animal. And they did not drive around a neighborhood shooting cats as it has been previously reported."
The incident occurred during Baylor's spring break. Bowers, out of action with a broken bone in his back, and Brehm, a talented left-hander who has missed action because of injury, were eating a late meal at Taco Cabana, a fast-food restaurant whose workers often fed Queso.
According to Smith, police found no evidence of alcohol at the scene. Had alcohol played a factor, Smith said he would have sought a more severe punishment.
Upon Smith's request, both players had a psychological evaluation administered by the university, and they will receive counseling, if necessary. Before Brehm and Bowers were allowed back at practice, the coach instructed them to explain the incident candidly to their teammates and apologize for tarnishing the Baylor program.
The players released a statement through the school.
"I'd like to apologize to my family, friends and everyone who has been affected by this incident," Brehm said.
Bowers said, "Words cannot adequately express the remorse I feel for the pain that this has caused my family, friends, my school and the city of Waco."
"These are fine young men, and I want them to get the support they need to ensure that an incident of this nature never takes place again," Smith said. "They are being punished. At some point in time that punishment has to fit the crime. To kick the kids out of school and label them as future serial killers is a very unfortunate accusation."
Case UpdatesOn March 19, a Texas jury acquitted one of the college students accused of torturing and killing a stray cat in Waco last year. Prosecutors brought animal cruelty charges against Derek Brehm after the cat, a friendly stray named Queso, was found skinned and beheaded. At the time, Brehm was a student at Baylor University. A fellow student, Clint Bowers, was also charged with animal cruelty. After Brehm was acquitted, the charges against Bowers were dropped.
In order to secure a conviction, prosecutors had to prove that Queso had an owner or that the cat had been tortured. Brehm's attorney said in court that Bowers shot the stray cat with a pellet gun and that the two young men later beat the wounded animal with golf clubs "to make sure it was dead."
Brehm was later expelled from Baylor after he was arrested on drunk-driving charges. He now attends the University of Texas at Arlington. Bowers is still a Baylor student.
(Update from ALDF - Update posted on Apr 12, 2002 - 12:00AM |
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