On Thursday, a day after Joseph Amico was taken into custody, Broward County Judge John "Jay" Hurley read details from a police report to Amico. Hurley told Amico, 26, that Tuesday's attack was caught on camera, and said the raccoon was a victim of "extremely cruel, gratuitous violence."
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| Joseph Amico should be neutered |
A video of the killing was posted on Facebook, where someone viewed it, the judge said. It led to a Coconut Creek police investigation that resulted in Amico's arrest.
The attack occurred about 7:45 a.m. behind a warehouse where he worked in the 6800 block of State Road 7 in Coconut Creek, according to the report read in court by Hurley.
Amico allegedly spotted the raccoon as it stood inside a trash bin rummaging through rubbish.
[In the video of the court proceedings where the judge reads the narrative he says that the raccoon was standing in the dumpster on its hind legs as Amico approached it. The raccoon reached out a paw towards Amico who then swung the 2x4 and hit the poor animal in the head, fracturing its skull - but not killing it - and then leaving it to suffer until it died.]
(Sun Sentinel - July 25, 2013)
