What to Know
- A Staten Island man who tortured his neighbor’s cat and live streamed the incident was sentenced Wednesday to 15 months in prison
- Tyrike Richardson, 21, previously pleaded guilty to aggravated animal cruelty for torturing and abandoning his neighbor’s cat, Chester
- Chester suffered multiple serious injuries, but has since made a full recovery and is being cared for, according to officials.
A Staten Island man who tortured his neighbor’s cat and live streamed the incident was sentenced Wednesday to 15 months in prison, authorities say.
Tyrike Richardson, 21, previously pleaded guilty to aggravated animal cruelty for torturing and abandoning his neighbor’s cat, Chester, last summer.
The Richmond County District Attorney’s office says that on June 2017, Richardson struck the feline multiple times in the head, body and face with a stick and knife and threw a chair at it, before placing it in a trash can outside to die. Richardson live streamed the incident on Facebook.
NYPD Staten Island Gang Squad officers rescued the cat who, according to a veterinarian from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, suffered serious injuries, including blunt force trauma, injured lungs, rib fractures, ear contusions, a bloody nose, broken teeth, liver and kidney injuries, head trauma and muscle injuries, officials say.
District Attorney Michael McMahon said his office will continue working together with the NYPD and ASPCA “to ensure animals are protected under the law and that those who chose to do them harm are prosecuted.”
Richardson is banned from owning animals for 10 years and must register with the NYC Animal Abuse Registry, according to the district attorney’s office. He must also pay $8,226 to the ASPCA.
Local
Chester has since made a full recovery and is being cared for, according to officials.
