Man Who Put Cat In Dog’s Cage To Be Attacked And Killed Receives Jail Time


An Athens, Georgia, man who purposely killed a cat by putting it in a dog’s crate to watch the cat suffer and die by the dog attacking it has been sentenced to prison. Jahmal Anthony Swaby, 21, of Conrad Drive of Athens, pleaded guilty to killing a cat and of threatening a witness. He also pleaded guilty to illegal possession of a firearm and theft by receiving stolen property. His codefendant, Trevaughn Miquan Thomas, also 21, pleaded not guilty to animal cruelty charges and has yet to go to trial, according to the Associated Press.

Although no amount of jail time is sufficient to replace any life, at least he was sentenced to more than a slap on the wrist, as often happens in animal cruelty cases. He was sentenced by Western Judicial Circuit Superior Court Chief Judge David Sweatto to eight years in prison and then 12 years of probation afterwards, according to the Athens Banner-Herald.

The horrific act of animal abuse occurred on September 30 when Conrad Drive residents heard a cat screaming in distress. Neighbors went outside to investigate the blood-curdling event and saw a cat running for its life, stuck in a cage with a dog who was attacking it, they told Athens-Clarke County police.

One of the witnesses described the cat as “running around inside the dog cage screaming for its life.” Swaby and Thomas, the witness said, kept urging the dog to “get it” (the cat). And the two reportedly laughed when a witness yelled at them to stop. Most people cannot fathom why someone would take such apparent joy in the suffering of a poor, defenseless creature.

A witness stated to the police that she saw the cat “running for its life while injured,” while in the cage with the dog. The cage sat outside of Swaby’s house. By the time that the police arrived, the cat was dead and the dog continued to bite the cat carcass. An officer said that the dog appeared “angry” and was “biting and jumping towards me.” Apparently, neither the cat nor the dog had a good life, and both were apparently victims of horrible, unfathomable abuse and neglect. The police noted that they saw other kittens in the yard.

Afterwards, according to police, Swaby walked by one of the witness’s house, apparently to threaten or intimidate her. He pointed two fingers “similar in shape of a gun.” Swaby was convicted of burglary in 2013 and was not permitted to have firearms. He was found to be in the possession of a stolen firearm.

Even one act of animal abuse is too much. Another sickening act of abuse occurred to a senior beagle named Libby, who was in her own back yard when she was beheaded. The family had let their three dogs out into their fenced back yard as usual. Unfortunately, when they went to look for Libby, a friend of the family found just her lifeless corpse, with no head, according to an article in the Inquisitr.

Do you think that Swaby’s sentence was sufficient? What sentence should Thomas receive? Please leave your comments below.

[Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images]

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