1/10/2020
Two Pennsylvania teenagers are charged after the Pennsylvania Game Commission says they held down and repeatedly kicked an immobile white-tailed deer and recorded social media videos of themselves doing it.
Alexander Brock Smith, 18, and a 17-year-old boy face two felony counts of aggravated animal cruelty and two felony counts of conspiracy to commit aggravated animal cruelty. the game commission said in a news release. They also face several other misdemeanor and summary counts. The Pennsylvania Game Commission does not release the names of minors who are charged with violations of the state Game and Wildlife Code.
The game commission started investigating after a viewer shared a video to the agency’s Facebook page.
Thousands of people worldwide have viewed the videos.
Both suspects said they were hunting together on Nov. 30 in an enclosed tree stand on property Smith’s family owns in Beaver Township, Jefferson County, the commission said. The juvenile shot and wounded a buck. The deer was immobilized, video was taken, and then shared through the messaging app Snapchat, the commission said.
The commission seized the two defendants’ phones as well as the phone of the person who alerted the game commission and did forensic analysis.
Smith was arraigned Friday and was released on $50,000 unsecured bail. Charges against the 17-year-old boy were filed Friday.