National News

Mass. man gets 4-year sentence for killing rabbits

Posted: 09/11/10 at 7:55 am EDT

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. (AP) -- A Massachusetts man has been sentenced to four years behind bars after admitting to mutilating and killing five pet rabbits during a break-in at a construction company.

The North Adams Transcript reports that Wayne Brackett Jr. accepted a plea agreement Friday that would allow him to go free in two years with good behavior.

Brackett also was sentenced to perform 100 hours of community service at a location other than an animal shelter.

Police arrested the 23-year-old North Adams man after getting a tip from someone who recognized him from surveillance video taken at Berkshire County Construction in June.

Brackett admitted to breaking into the company and killing five of the owners' 6-year-old daughter's rabbits. He told police he had been drinking and smoking marijuana and did not remember harming the animals.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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