Teen charged after kitten is set on fire
Posted on Wednesday, August 27, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/adg/News/235521/
WYNNE — Police arrested a 16-year-old Wynne boy Tuesday and charged him with cruelty to animals after he confessed to setting fire to a kitten that later had to be euthanized.
The boy was not named because of his age. He was charged in St. Francis County juvenile court and was released Tuesday afternoon, Wynne Police Chief Michael Bachand said.
Cruelty to animals is considered a Class A misdemeanor and is punishable by up to one year in jail and a maximum fine of $ 1, 000.
Wynne Police Chief Michael Bachand said the boy admitted to dousing the 3-month-old yellow and white male kitten with lighter fluid Aug. 13 and lighting him on fire as “a joke.”
The cat suffered severe burns on its back, ears, tail and genitals. A man spotted the cat on Hamilton Street in Wynne and rescued it. A veterinarian tended to its injuries but had to put the cat to sleep Aug. 15 because of its injuries.
Bachand said he questioned a witness Monday and arrested the boy Tuesday morning.
“At first he said he didn’t do it, but he knew he was had,” Bachand said. “He said it was his own idea and that he did it as a joke.”
The Humane Society of the United States based in Washington, D. C., offered a $ 2, 500 reward for an arrest. A local dentist added $ 500 to the reward. Bachand said the reward will be given to the witness who led police to the suspect.