Second Beaumont man sentenced to federal prison in cat kicking case

BEAUMONT, Texas - A Beaumont man has been sentenced to federal prison for animal cruelty violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Damien M. Diggs today.

Donaldvan Williams, 30, pleaded guilty to animal crushing and aiding and abetting and was sentenced to 40 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Marcia A. Crone on September 10, 2024.

Animal crushing is defined under federal criminal law as, "actual conduct in which one or more living non-human mammals, birds, reptiles, or amphibians, is purposely crushed, burned, drowned, suffocated, impaled, or otherwise subjected to serious bodily injury."

According to information presented in court, on October 15, 2021, Williams and Decorius Mire encountered a live domestic cat in the parking lot of a Beaumont apartment complex. Williams, encouraged by Mire, kicked the cat as if kicking a football field goal, propelling the cat approximately 15 to 20 feet through the air. Williams was aware that Mire filmed the event with his cellular telephone and posted the video on his social media accounts where it was commented on and shared with others.

Williams and Mire were prosecuted under the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture (PACT) Act. Signed into law in November 2019, the PACT Act bans the intentional crushing, burning, drowning, suffocating, impalement or other serious harm to "living non-human mammals, birds, reptiles, or amphibians." The law also bans "animal crush videos," meaning any photograph, motion picture film, video or digital recording or electronic image that depicts animal cruelty.

Mire was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison in July 2023.

This case was investigated by the Beaumont Police Department and the FBI and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph R. Batte and Department of Justice and Environmental and Natural Resource Division Trial Attorney Ethan Eddy.

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