Former Alabama college athletes who beat duck to death with baseball bat charged with animal cruelty
Two former Alabama college athletes have been arrested for allegedly beating a duck to death with a baseball bat.
According to AL.com, the disturbing incident took place after 19-year-olds Thomas 'Landon' Grant and Jacob Thomas Frye picked up a white Muscovy duck out of a pond on the Central Alabama Community College Campus in Alexander City on May 15.
The pair had just left a party arranged by fellow baseball players and proceeded to take the duck and beat it with a baseball bat. They then put the wounded bird in a bag and took it to a nearby apartment where they decided to "put it out of its misery".
They continued beating the duck before dumping the bird, which was still in the bag, in a wooded area. A coach who had heard the commotion found the duck gravely wounded but still alive. He took it to a veterinarian who euthanized the bird.
The coach subsequently contacted school officials to report the incident, and the Alexander City Police was brought in to investigate as well. Following a criminal probe, detectives determined that Grant and Frye were the culprits and issued warrants for their arrest.
Grant was arrested on May 31 and booked into the Tallapoosa County Jail on charges of aggravated animal cruelty, a Class C felony. However, he was released later on the same day after posting a $5,000 bond. He is scheduled to appear in court late in July. Frye, who now lives in Georgia, surrendered to the Alexander City Police two weeks later, on Friday, June 14, and was similarly booked into the Tallapoosa County Jail on charges of aggravated animal cruelty.
Despite the arrests of Grant and Frye, authorities said that their investigation into the incident was still ongoing and that additional suspects could also be arrested in connection to the case.