SARASOTA COUNTY, Fla. — The Sarasota County Sheriff's Office said a father and daughter both face aggravated animal cruelty charges related to a viral video that showed a raccoon being burned alive in a dumpster.
The video led to an outcry on social media in August, including a change.org petition that received more than 10,000 signatures.
Alicia Kincheloe, 30, and her father, Roddy Kincheloe, 63, were both arrested on Thursday. Online records show that Alicia is also charged with destroying evidence.
According to investigators, the video depicts the raccoon looking at the camera with no signs of aggression.
However, Alicia, narrating the video, stated the raccoon was “mean.”
Additional video clips showed Roddy hosing down the dumpster which appears to be smoking while Alicia says, “we just toasted his (expletive), who’s hungry?”
The video then captured the inside of the dumpster where the charred remains of the animal can be seen on camera.
The sheriff's office said the investigation into the incident was one of the "most extensive" ever conducted by its agricultural unit.
According to Sheriff Kurt Hoffman, authorities believe Roddy stabbed the raccoon with a pitchfork, and he and Alicia left it for dead in the dumpster while they went to lunch.
When they returned, the raccoon was still alive. Hoffman said they then put some type of flammable liquid in the dumpster on the raccoon and lit it on fire.
Hoffman said it was a "cruel, inhumane thing to do." He said the pair both invoked their rights when arrested and didn't provide a motive.
"I would speculate that it was just pure entertainment value based on the commentary that they were making doing this to this animal, which makes it even more heinous and just sick," Hoffman said.
According to an arrest document, authorities became aware of the video on August 11. The next day, deputies met with Alicia at her home.
She admitted to posting the video and told deputies when she and her father returned from lunch, they saw the dumpster smoldering. She said they retrieved a gas can which she claimed was full of water and poured it on the dumpster, but she said it began to "flare up."
The sheriff's office said Alicia told them she kept the water in that spot in case the radiator on her food truck needed water. Alicia also told authorities that her father had, at one point, thrown a lit cigarette into the dumpster before they left for lunch.
Hoffman said authorities tested the liquid inside the gas can, and it was confirmed to be a flammable liquid, not water.
Hoffman said the charge of destroying evidence against Alicia is related to her removing the dead raccoon from the dumpster. The sheriff's office said surveillance video showed Alicia reaching into the dumpster with what appears to be a pitchfork which she used to remove the raccoon's body.
The video showed her walking away with the dead raccoon out of the camera's view, according to authorities. Hoffman said the raccoon's body had not been found.
On August 31, detectives spoke with a witness who said she saw the video and called Alicia about it, according to arrest documents. They later discussed it in person.
Sister station WFTS in Tampa contributed to this report.
