A man convicted of stomping a cat to death told a judge that he regretted what happened but insisted his actions were an attempt to stop the declawed, 14-year-old cat from biting his leg.
The argument did not sway Loudoun County Circuit Court Judge J. Howe Brown.
In sentencing Peter Landrith, 39, to three years in prison, all suspended, and five years' probation, Brown was emphatic that Landrith had maliciously killed the cat.
