Joseph Petcka, a 205-pound former minor league baseball player who killed a former girlfriend's 7-pound cat in 2007, avoided jail time and probation after completing 500 hours of community service. During a trial last year, Petcka had claimed Norman the orange cat attacked him while he was in a drunken mood, provoking him into beating the feline to death.
The jury was hung, with 11 jurors looking to convict him, and the Manhattan DA's office ultimately allowed Petcka to plead guilty to aggravated animal cruelty in exchange for doing 500 hours of community service. When the Post "asked if he was glad to get the ugly incident behind him," Petcka said, "I guess it's hard to put it into words... I guess it's just like I said. A lot of it's tough to put into words." (The Post also calls him the "tongue-tied tabby terminator").
Petcka reportedly "spent 476 hours serving the homeless at a soup kitchen, and another 33 hours singing and assisting with crafts at an arts therapy charity."
