Andre Robinson may be a terrible person, but he will not be spending the next year in prison for having kicked a cat. The New York Daily News reports that Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice ShawnDya Simpson has tossed the greater of two misdemeanor charges against him because there was no evidence the cat was injured. However, Robinson “still faces a lesser charge, which is a B misdemeanor and calls for a maximum jail term of 90 days.”
In video footage that quickly went viral in May, Robinson can be seen punting a 20-pound, one-year-old stray cat on the sidewalk. The ASPCA claims the cat suffered ““tissue injuries and bruising.” But according to Simpson:
“Maybe it was injured, or maybe it’s fine,” Simpson said Thursday in Brooklyn Criminal Court. “If you’re going for the full assault, it’s not here.”
“The only thing I can see to cure it is if you have a doctor’s report,” Simpson said, noting that a veterinarian’s claim in the complaint that the attack “would cause” injury was not enough.
Had there been sufficient evidence to conclude that the animal sustained injuries, Robinson may have faced an A misdemeanor charge with up to one year in prison. Robinson’s trial, which will consider an attempted injury charge, begins on January 20. The cat, meanwhile, has found a home in Manhattan.
