Marc Saunders, 31, of Splendora, Tex., who has been in jail since his arrest in October 2012, was convicted of felony animal cruelty on Jan. 14. He could have been sentenced anywhere between two and 10 years.
"You're dealing with an animal that's basically defenseless," Montgomery County prosecutor Rob Freyer told ABC affiliate KSAT. "And you have a situation where you have a defendant that's a cross between a sociopath and a moron."
The San Antonio-based station said Freyer pushed for the maximum sentence and called on several witnesses to discuss a prior drug charge.
Freyer told the Daily News that Saunders was already on probation for possessing methamphetamine and beating his wife.
“Methamphetamine clouds people’s judgment. It turns rational people into complete idiots,” he said.
The testimonies revealed that Saunders was “methed up” during the incident on Oct. 25, 2012.
Saunders offered to escort a 2-year-old donkey named Susie Q back to her owner's house after it wandered off, investigators said.
Susie Q fell on her side after the pavement ground off between 1.5 and 2 inches of her hooves, "exposing raw flesh and bone," according to a news release from the Montgomery County Precinct 4 Constable's Office.
"The donkey, when located by Constable Morrow, was lying in a ditch and was in obvious pain. Her hooves were bleeding. We did not need that man's consent to go forward with this case," Freyer said to KSAT.
The jury agreed that Saunders used his truck as a deadly weapon, according to the local station.
Saunders' attorney argued that his client never intended to harm the animal. The man will reportedly need to serve half of his sentence before being eligible for parole.
But it is not likely he will get any leniency for good behavior since he has already jumped another inmate, Freyer said.
The donkey's owners say that she is doing fine nowadays.
(NY Daily News - Jan 16, 2014)
Related: Justice for Abused Donkey
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