Texas Man Faces Fur-ocious Consequences of Animal Abuse, Sentenced to Federal Prison

Someone never watched 'Don't F With Cats'....

But really, a strange series of events that took place in Beaumont, Texas seems to hold a few parallels to the 2019 true crime docuseries. Join me, dear reader, and I'll explain.

No Kicking The Kitty

So, back in October of 2021, Donaldvan Williams, 30, along with his cohort, Decorius Mire, decided to create their own America's Funniest Home Videos submission in an empty parking lot in Beaumont, TX. (This is a joke, they did not actually do it for the tv show)

This is Williams, followed by Mire.

And who would be their star of the show? Why, a cute little cat, of course. Mire reportedly recorded Williams punting the cat 15 to 20 feet. There was a mystery guest who has yet to be identified who then lit the cat on fire...

Thanks to Mire posting the video to social media, authorities were to able to identify the two and apprehend the cat-kickers.

Recently, Williams pled guilty to the animal abuse claims and will spend 40 months in prison. His buddy, Mire, was sentenced to 18 months in prison in July of 2023 as part of a plea agreement.

The moral of this story? Just leave cats alone. It may be tempting to punt them across parking lots and set them ablaze, but I implore you to curb your urges.

Animal Cruelty Laws in Texas

Cats and dogs fall under the "companion animal" category and are therefore protected under state law.

According to SPCA, actions defined as cruel punishment that can result in penalties from fines to prison sentences (like our power duo from earlier) include the following:

• Torturing, abandoning, or seriously overworking an animal
• Abandoning or transporting an animal in a cruel manner
• Straight up killing, seriously injuring or poisoning an animal

Get this, some more specific actions include intentionally tripping a horse and using live animals as a "lure" in dog races.

Long story short: pets good, don't hurt.