Man pleads guilty in puppy burning case
By Stephanie Moore
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ORANGEBURG, South Carolina (WYFF) — A South Carolina man pleaded guilty after he was accused of throwing a puppy in a fire and then kicking it while streaming on Facebook Live.
Desmond Levon Brown, 29, of Orangeburg, has pleaded guilty to animal crushing, which includes burning, under the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act (PACT Act), according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of South Carolina.
This is the first known PACT Act Conviction in South Carolina.
Investigators said the evidence showed on Dec. 18, the Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office received reports of a Facebook Live video showing Brown throwing a puppy into a fire that day.
Deputies said they found the deceased puppy in a wooded area near the incident location.
Federal law enforcement obtained the Facebook video, which they say showed Brown holding the puppy above the fire, dropping it into the fire, and repeatedly kicking the puppy into the fire, burning it alive.
Further evidence showed that the fire, which was started by Brown’s associate, was made using a brand of rum that was imported from the Caribbean and bottled in Kentucky.
After his arrest, Brown was recorded on jail calls admitting to burning the puppy.
“Brown’s gruesome torture of a puppy was heinous,” said U.S. Attorney Bryan Stirling for the District of South Carolina. “He showed no mercy in his crime, and we look forward to his sentencing. Our office will lead the fight to protect the welfare of animals in South Carolina.”
Brown faces a maximum penalty of seven years in federal prison. He also faces a fine of up to $250,000, restitution, and three years of supervision to follow the term of imprisonment. United States District Judge Mary Geiger Lewis accepted the guilty plea and will sentence Brown after receiving and reviewing a sentencing report prepared by the U.S. Probation Office.
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