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Victorville Man Gets Probation After Admitting To Killing Rabbits Near Ontario Airport

RANCHO CUCAMONGA (CBS) — A Victorville man who captured and killed as many as 20 domestic rabbits he found running around near the Ontario Airport will serve three years of probation.

Shea Johnson, 22, captured the rabbits at a Fox Rent A Car near the Ontario International Airport, where he worked as a driver, according to the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin. Prosecutors say Johnson killed the animals by hitting them with his fists or slamming them against walls and fences.

Authorities arrested him after one of his coworkers secretly took video footage of the Johnson killing the rabbits and took it to police.

Johnson's sentence was part of a plea bargain that includes a mandatory counseling program, the newspaper reported. It also includes a 180-day suspended sentence in county jail, which can be ordered later by the court if Johnson violates probation.

Johnson pleaded no contest in December to the felony count of cruelty to an animal. Four other counts were ordered dismissed.

If He successfully complies with all the terms of probation the felony count can be reduced to a misdemeanor after 18 months.

Johnson also made a $500 donation to the Inland Valley Humane Society in Pomona and is not allowed to possess any rabbits while on probation, according to the Bulletin.

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