By Alyssa Schnugg
News editor
Assistant District Attorney Tiffany Kilpatrick was handed a ream of paper Wednesday containing almost 17,000 signatures from people supporting her prosecution of two men charged with filming the killing of four kittens in July.
Carl Travis Jr. and Dontavious Smith were arrested in July after a Snapchat video showed Travis killing four kittens in various ways while Smith filmed the acts.
In Defense of Animals’ Justice for Animals Campaign Director, Doll Stanley and Cyd Dunlap of Tubbs Spay and Neuter Project presented Kilpatrick with the signatures Wednesday morning at the Lafayette County Circuit Court Clerk.
In September, both men were inducted by the Grand Jury on four felony charges for acting in concert to unlawfully, willfully, feloniously and intentionally torture, mutilate, maim, crush and disfigure the four kittens.
The signatures support Kilpatrick in her commitment to the men’s prosecution and will be presented to the Court during the sentencing phase of the men’s future trials or plea agreement hearings.
After the video was posted on Snapchat on July 25, the Oxford Police Department obtained an arrest warrant for Travis and in cooperation with the Grenada Police Department, arrested Travis on July 26 in Grenada. He was given a $5,000 bond.
Smith was arrested after and also made bond.
For each count, Travis and Smith each face a $5,000 fine, incarceration for up to three years, or both.
“Cases of animal cruelty like this in Mississippi and across the country are deeply troubling and raise serious concerns about how offenders will escalate their violent behavior,” Stanley said. “While disturbing, videos depicting horrors posted on social media provide an opportunity to apprehend an abuser, preventing the torment of future victims.”
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