A Sarasota father and daughter have been arrested after a Snapchat video showing a raccoon being burned alive in a dumpster went viral.
Alicia Kincheloe, 30, and her father Roddy Kincheloe, 63, were each charged with aggravated animal cruelty. They were booked into the Sarasota County jail. The Sarasota sheriff's office Agricultural Unit learned of the Snapchat videos on Aug. 11.
'We Just Toasted his Ass'
In the first Snapchat video, Kincheloe narrates as she walks up to the dumpster where she said that she and a coworker had heard the raccoon rustling the night before as they were taking the taking the trash out at the end of their shifts. The video zooms in on the raccoon who was looking up at her, not acting aggressively.
She claims in the video that the raccoon had been "running at people and trying to attack people," although there is no evidence of that in the videos. Kincheloe adds that the raccoon likely has rabies.
The next Snapchat video shows the father hosing down the smoking dumpster. "Some people say throw an apple with bleach in there," she said over the sound of the hose. "We just toasted his (expletive), who's hungry?" she said as the camera zooms into the dumpster where the charred remains of the raccoon can be seen.
Kincheloe Claimed Her Father Threw a Cigarette into the Dumpster
Deputies interviewed Alicia Kincheloe on Aug. 12, and she admitted to making the Snapchat videos with her phone, according to a probable cause affidavit. But she claimed that she had found the dumpster ablaze when she came back from lunch so they grabbed an empty gas can, filled it with water and poured it into the dumpster.
The dumpster then flared up, she claimed, so her father grabbed a hose to put out the fire. She added that her father had thrown a cigarette into the dumpster before they went to lunch. Alicia Kincheloe met deputies at the business location, and she pulled the gas can from under the driver's seat, explaining them that she kept it there in case her radiator needs water.
However, when deputies opened the gas tank, "I could immediately smell a strong odor of gasoline," Deputy George Yock stated in the report. A preliminary burn test showed it was a flammable liquid.
Racoon was Stabbed with Pitchfork Before Being Burned Alive
On August 31, a detective spoke with a witness of the video and swore she saw it posted on Alicia's Snapchat. The witness said she called Alicia to talk about the video and Alicia explained to her that, her father stabbed the raccoon with the pitchfork before heading to lunch and when they returned the raccoon was still alive. Alicia's father told her to grab the gas can from underneath the truck's seat, according to a Sarasota County report.
According to a Sarasota County report, the witness said Alicia admitted to her that she poured gasoline on the live raccoon and her father set it on fire. The witness said Alicia removed the dead raccoon from the dumpster in an attempt to hide it from law enforcement. The maximum punishment for aggravated animal cruelty is up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $10,000.
