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A couple is being charged after they were filmed torturing a small kitten while they were swimming on a local beach – throwing the helpless animal’s paws into the air like a pool toy and into shoulder-deep water.
When approached by outraged onlookers, the suspects, 27-year-old John Laguerre and Jamarria Wayne, made 22 jokes and demanded $1,000 from the Good Samaritans to stop.
The incident took place in Miami late last month and saw both suspects arrested by officers on the sands of scenic Sunny Isles Beach — but not before resisting arrest and even nearly biting one of the officers.
The entire altercation was caught on camera by a beachgoer — and the kitten, pictured clinging to life after the ordeal, survived.
Both suspects have since been linked, with Wayne charged with two felony counts of battery and attempted battery on a police officer and resisting arrest, while Laguerre was stricken with resisting arrest and animal cruelty – both crimes.
After their arrest, the couple failed to return to pick up their pet – urging one of the cat’s rescuers to get up and adopt the animal.
The woman has since been able to rehome the kitten, saying that in the midst of all the chaos, all she could do was make sure the animal emerged unharmed.
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A couple is being charged after they were filmed torturing a small kitten while they were swimming on a local beach – throwing the helpless animal’s paws in the air and into shoulder-deep water
When approached by outraged onlookers, the suspects joked and demanded money to stop – before continuing to torture the animal, which appears almost comatose in the images.
Defendants John Laguerre, 27, and Jamarria Wayne, 22, were arrested by officers on the sands of Miami’s scenic Sunny Isles Beach as a result of the September incident, and are charged with battery and animal cruelty, in addition to resisting arrest. The pair are both free on bond
“They threw her in the water like that,” Miami resident Natalia Martin recalled of the abuse, prompting her to get off her towel and confront the kitten’s attackers.
“They tried to make her swim and the cat was so scared she passed out. She was only half alive.’
However, when approaching the young couple – which was filmed wading in the Florida waves with Laguerre holding the floppy kitten with one hand – Martin was rebuffed by the pair, who reportedly began to intimidate the woman.
“The man started to get so aggressive towards me,” Martin said Local10 of the ensuing deadlock.
“He’s starting to perform,” she said of Laguerre’s response to her reprimand during the episode, which took place on September 24.
He says, ‘Hey, look, this is my cat. This is none of your business. I can do whatever I want,” she said.
The incident took place in Miami late last month and saw both suspects arrested by officers on the sands of scenic Sunny Isles Beach — but not before violently resisting arrest (pictured)
The little kitten, pictured clinging to life after the ordeal, survived the ordeal, thanks to the intervention of an enraged Good Samaritan who called the police
At that point, the 5-foot-9, 190-pound offender reportedly started playing with Martin and even trying to blackmail him, telling her: “If you don’t want me to throw the cat away, give me $1,000 now.”
Outraged at the seemingly sarcastic proposal, Martin promptly called beach security – and eventually the local police.
All the while, the couple continued the abuse, which at the time had caught the attention of dozens of other beachgoers who were also outraged by the couple’s treatment of the animal.
“They threw her in the water like that,” Martin said. “They tried to make her swim and the cat was so scared she passed out. She was only half alive.’
The heartbreaking clip shows the couple tossing the animal among themselves like a Frisbee, much to the horror of other beachgoers. The cat survived and has since been rehomed
fThe recording of a beachgoer seemed to corroborate Marin’s account of the incident – it showed Laguerre repeatedly tossing the animal several feet in the air at multiple points, while he and his female companion were drenched in the beast’s misery.
The heartbreaking clip shows the couple tossing the animal among themselves like a Frisbee, to the horror of other beachgoers.
During the abuse, the kitten – who appeared to be no more than a few months old – remained dead still, seemingly comatose from the repeated shock of falling into the crashing surf.
Undeterred by their pet’s apparent plight, the couple continued to dispose of the animal despite repeated protests from Martin and others, until police finally arrived.
After their arrest, the couple did not return to retrieve their pet – one of the cat’s rescuers, Miami resident Natalie Martin (pictured), urged them to get up and adopt the animal, after she found the had confronted perpetrators
The woman has since been able to rehome the kitten, saying amid the chaos that all she cared about was making sure the animal came out of the chaos unharmed.
“They were just trying to pick her up and throw her again,” Martin said. ‘There was a beach full of people. They tried to look and see what was going on. Everyone was shocked.’
Finally, the police approached the couple about violating the ‘no animals on the beach’ rules and asked them to leave the premises.
At the time, according to a police report, Laguerre resisted arrest, hurling swear words at the officers and defying their orders to leave the beach without incident.
In the meantime, the woman is said to have yelled at the officers, threatened them and said she would ‘bite’ them, the police wrote.
Eventually, things escalated to the point where the encounter became physical, forcing eight officers to take down the resistance couple on the sands of the beach and handcuff them.
Both were charged with resisting an officer without violence to his person – a felony – while Wayne was hit with one blow from each of the battery and an attempted battery against a peace officer.
At this point in the turmoil, Martin said she wasn’t concerned about the fate of the cat’s two attackers — and was focused only on the kitten’s well-being.
Finally, one of the officers handed her the soaked animal, which she then wrapped in a towel and helped with the grooming.
“The cop gave me this pussy,” Martin said. “I put her in the towel, wrote the police report – me and my friend, we did the police report.”
She added of the kitten’s sad condition after the incident: ‘The kitten has been rescued. She was shaking all over – she was barely alive.’
The cat was then taken to a local animal shelter, where he stayed for two days.
After the incident, the cat was then taken to a local animal shelter, where she stayed for two days before being adopted and rehomed by Martin. The cat – who appeared to be no more than a few months old – suffered no visible injuries as a result of the assault
At the time, Laguerre and Wayne—who were rescued with $2,000 and $12,500 bonds, respectively—failed to retrieve the animal, allowing Martin to adopt him—something she says she is eternally grateful for.
“I brought this cat. I officially adopted her two days after this incident,” Martin said.
She has since found a new home for the kitten, who has suffered no visible injuries.
The case against Laguerre and Wayne is currently pending.