Father, daughter could face years in prison if convicted for burning raccoon

SARASOTA COUNTY, Fla. (WWSB) – Days after Alicia and Roddy Kincheloe were walked through the Sarasota County Sheriff’s office and booked into jail, animal rights advocates celebrated in front of the Sarasota County Justice Center waving colorful poster boards and cheering. The people there are happy with the case’s progress, but they are keeping a close eye on the case as they await a trail.

“It is so important that animal abuse is treated so seriously,” Susan Hargreeves, a longtime animal rights activist, said at the rally.

Alicia and Roddy Kincheloe have been arrested and charged with aggravated animal cruelty, a third-degree felony, weeks after a disturbing viral video exploded online. In that video, Alicia is seen filming herself talking about how she’s going to kill a raccoon trapped in a dumpster, then later cuts away to show the burned animal corpse inside the dumpster surrounded by billowing smoke.

Alicia has also been charged with tampering with evidence.

ABC7 spoke to a local attorney to learn more about just how seriously these actions could be taken by the court if the father and daughter are convicted for their alleged crimes. Matthew Tympanick, the founder of Matthew Tympanick Law, said jail time and fines are on the line.

He explained aggravated animal cruelty carries a penalty of up to five years in prison. If it’s found that the actions were “knowing and voluntary” then that same person could also be slapped with a minimum $2,500 fine and required to take courses for anger management and psychological counseling.

As for Alicia, her additional tampering with evidence charge, which is a third-degree felony, may come with another five years in prison. However, Tympanick explains this would all depend on a few factors.

“This could result in prison time depending on the score sheet and the defendant’s criminal history,” he said.

We also asked Tympanick about how circumstances around the crime could come into play.

The sheriff’s office reports Alicia confessed how exactly the raccoon wound up dead. According to investigators, she admitted to at first stabbing the animal with a pitchfork while it was trapped in the dumpster, then leaving for an hour lunch break. It wasn’t until she returned, per the report, that she and her father worked together to douse the raccoon in flammable liquid and light it on fire.

These circumstances, Tympanick said, would make their case much more difficult to defend because both of them had so much time to consider their actions before allegedly burning the raccoon.

“It goes to this crime was committed in a cold, calculating fashion,” he said That at sentencing a judge is not going to look to favorably upon if they were to be found guilty or plead guilty.”

Locals rallying in front of the justice center, who affectionately named the young raccoon “Rosie”, are hoping justice is served so others think twice before abusing an animal. Hargreeves told media outlets she’s sure the courts will find both Alicia and Roddy guilty when the case moves forward.

“So, I’m confident that in this case it is going to be taken seriously, it is taken seriously,” Hargreeves said.

Alicia and Roddy have bonded out of jail.

ABC7 will continue to follow this case and bring you updates as we learn more.

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