JOINING US LIVE NOW WITH THOSE CHARGES. BRITTANY: THIS VIDEO ANGERED PEOPLE WORLDWIDE MANY WONDERED WHY IT TOOK SO LONG TO FILE THE CHARGES. THE PA GAME COMMISSION SAID TODAY THEY PUT A LOT OF WORK INTO THE INVESTIGATION TO PRESENT THEIR CASE. CHARGED TONIGHT ARE 18-YEAR-OLD ALEXANDER BROCK SMITH AND A 17-YEAR-OLD JUVENILE. EACH FACING TWO COUNTS OF AGGRAVATED ANIMAL CRUELTY AND TWO FELONY COUNTS OF CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT AGGRAVATED ANIMAL CRUELTY, AS WELL AS SEVERAL OTHER MISDEMEANOR SUMMARY ACCOUNTS. ACCORDING TO THE CRIMINAL COMPLAINT, SMITH SHOT THE DEER ONES, WOUNDING IT, AND THE MISSED WITH A FOLLOW-UP SHOT. THAT IS WHEN YOU CAN SEE THEM KICKING AND STOMPING THE WOUNDED ANIMAL. THE TEENS ALLEGEDLY TOLD POLICE THEY WERE OUT ROUNDS AND TRYING TO FINISH THE DEER OFF. SMITH WAS ARRAIGNED TODAY AND RELEASED ON A $50,000 UNSECURED BOND. PAPERWORK WAS FILED IN
Felony animal cruelty charges filed in alleged deer assault seen on viral video
Charges filed in Jefferson County, Pennsylvania
Updated: 6:10 PM EST Jan 10, 2020
Charges have been filed against two teenagers who recorded videos of themselves holding down and repeatedly kicking an immobile deer, the Pennsylvania Game Commission said Friday.Alexander Brock Smith, 18, and a 17-year-old boy, both of Brookville, Jefferson County, are both charged with felony counts of aggravated cruelty to animals and misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty and tampering with or fabricating evidence, the Game Commission said. Smith is also charged with misdemeanor corruption of minors.Smith was arraigned Friday and released on $50,000 unsecured bail. The 17-year-old will be charged in juvenile court and is not being identified because of his age.Click the video player above to see images from the controversial deer video.”Each defendant was interviewed as part of the investigation and confirmed they were hunting together Nov. 30 in an enclosed tree stand on property Smith’s family owns in Beaver Township, Jefferson County,” the Game Commission said in a written statement. “The juvenile shot and wounded a buck, then missed with a follow-up shot. The deer was immobilized, video was taken, then shared through the messaging app Snapchat. One recipient of the video saved it to his phone and contacted the Game Commission, and his phone, as well as the defendants’ phones, were seized for forensic analysis.”A video that was shared to the Game Commission’s Facebook page and prompted the investigation has been shared thousands of times.During the investigation, one of the people in the video was identified as Smith, the stepson of Brookville’s police chief.Last month, Brookville solicitor James Dennison spoke to Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 on behalf of Police Chief Vince Markle, saying: “He was extremely upset, for a few reasons. For one, that it happened and that kids could do this to an animal. Second, it was his stepson who was involved. Third, probably his biggest concern was the black eye it would give to the borough of Brookville and the police department.”Tim Layton, president of the Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners, acknowledged public frustration over the length of the investigation, but he said it took time to collect the evidence and to determine that the incident did happen in the state.”It’s easy to understand why people were outraged by the incident,” Layton said in a written statement. “But the worst-case scenario would have been rushing the investigation and heading into court with a case that wasn’t as strong as it could have been.””Obviously, this case has generated a large amount of public outcry,” Jefferson County District Attorney Jeff Burkett said. “People have assumed that officers have been dragging their feet when, actually, the opposite is true. They have put a lot of hard work in on this case in order to present the case for prosecution. I commend the Pennsylvania Game Commission for their efforts in this matter.”
Charges have been filed against two teenagers who recorded videos of themselves holding down and repeatedly kicking an immobile deer, the Pennsylvania Game Commission said Friday.
Alexander Brock Smith, 18, and a 17-year-old boy, both of Brookville, Jefferson County, are both charged with felony counts of aggravated cruelty to animals and misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty and tampering with or fabricating evidence, the Game Commission said. Smith is also charged with misdemeanor corruption of minors.
Smith was arraigned Friday and released on $50,000 unsecured bail. The 17-year-old will be charged in juvenile court and is not being identified because of his age.
Click the video player above to see images from the controversial deer video.
“Each defendant was interviewed as part of the investigation and confirmed they were hunting together Nov. 30 in an enclosed tree stand on property Smith’s family owns in Beaver Township, Jefferson County,” the Game Commission said in a written statement. “The juvenile shot and wounded a buck, then missed with a follow-up shot. The deer was immobilized, video was taken, then shared through the messaging app Snapchat. One recipient of the video saved it to his phone and contacted the Game Commission, and his phone, as well as the defendants’ phones, were seized for forensic analysis.”
A video that was shared to the Game Commission’s Facebook page and prompted the investigation has been shared thousands of times.
During the investigation, one of the people in the video was identified as Smith, the stepson of Brookville’s police chief.
Last month, Brookville solicitor James Dennison spoke to Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 on behalf of Police Chief Vince Markle, saying: “He was extremely upset, for a few reasons. For one, that it happened and that kids could do this to an animal. Second, it was his stepson who was involved. Third, probably his biggest concern was the black eye it would give to the borough of Brookville and the police department.”
Tim Layton, president of the Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners, acknowledged public frustration over the length of the investigation, but he said it took time to collect the evidence and to determine that the incident did happen in the state.
“It’s easy to understand why people were outraged by the incident,” Layton said in a written statement. “But the worst-case scenario would have been rushing the investigation and heading into court with a case that wasn’t as strong as it could have been.”
“Obviously, this case has generated a large amount of public outcry,” Jefferson County District Attorney Jeff Burkett said. “People have assumed that officers have been dragging their feet when, actually, the opposite is true. They have put a lot of hard work in on this case in order to present the case for prosecution. I commend the Pennsylvania Game Commission for their efforts in this matter.”