Shea Johnson Sentenced To 3 Years Probation For Killing 20 Rabbits While At Work

Some people use their work breaks to make a phone call or smoke a cigarette. Not Shea Johnson.

When Johnson, 22, a driver for Fox Rent-A-Car near near L.A./Ontario International Aiport in southern California, had a few minutes between jobs, he spent them capturing wild rabbits and killing them by hitting them with his fists or slamming them against the back wall at his work, according to the San Bernadino Sun.

Johnson, of Victorville, Calif., was sentenced on Monday to three years probation for killing as many as 20 wild rabbits.

He was arrested last May after one of his coworkers secretly made a video recording of the alleged abuse and turned it over it to police, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Johnson pled not guilty to the charges, but a portion of the graphic video that is posted on YouTube shows him tossing rabbits like softballs over a fence, putting them into a net and slamming them against a wall.

"He throws them up against the wall, he punches them, just killing them in various ways," said Deputy District Attorney Deborah Ploghaus to InsideSoCal.com when Johnson was charged with five counts of animal cruelty last July.

Officers found about a dozen rabbit carcasses behind a back fence when they initially searched the the rental agency where Johnson worked. Ontario police Sgt. David McBride interviewed Johnson about the animal carcasses and said that the suspect refuted any involvement.

"He initially denied any of the acts, and eventually partially admitted to some of it," McBride told InsideSoCal.com.

Although one of Johnson's fellow employees at Fox Rent-A-Car ratted him out as a rabbit killer to the police, animal rights groups picketed the place this past summer, according to the San Bernardino Sun, because the business continued to employ him after Johnson was released on $50,000 bail.

Comments

[Willow Webster]

05:37 AM on 03/06/2013

I volunteer at a rabbit rescue & we ended up with 4 of his victimes that survived. One tiny black bunny who when we got him was missing most of his ears. Alot has grown badk but this poor bunny is still missing pieces of his ears & his eyes have permanent scres from the abuse & is terrified of people as so are the 3 other rabbits he is bonded with. I am working on getting him to trust that not all people are evil but it's slow going. They should have done more than give him probation. For people like that it's the usually the first step towards turning into a serial killer.

[a360flipallday]

05:47 PM on 03/13/2013

So the Predators like cats and the hawk we seen around there had nothing to do with it? Or the customers who sped out of the parking lot hitting them? or the other employees who accidently hit them when the rabbits ran in front of them?

[Iwonderif]

10:53 PM on 02/04/2013

Another serial killer in the making. Remind me to stay away from there!

[oldstuff]

04:17 PM on 02/03/2013

If the rabbits were a nuisance. I imagine there were more humane ways to deal with it. Heck, I shoot and eat rabbits all the time.

[Bicycle22]

04:11 PM on 02/03/2013

Looks like his head was slammed against a wall a few times, as well. Sicko! Hope he gets what he deserves!

[Janie Clark Caron]

03:43 PM on 02/03/2013

what a sick freak he is. This is the kind of people that turn into serial killers.

[Nancy Stewart Cockburn]

03:34 PM on 02/03/2013

Why don't they take animal abuse laws more seriously. We all know it is precursor to more things to come.

[Nancy Stewart Cockburn]

03:29 PM on 02/03/2013

So he just gets probation. Isn't this an indicator of more things to come. Next it might be children?

[Iwonderif]

10:54 PM on 02/04/2013

Yep. Exactly.

[IgFan2]

03:06 PM on 02/03/2013

I imagine the thrill of bunny punching is like a drug to this one. I say he's addicted; the urge will arise in him once again. Hopefully, he's caught before it happens.

[oldstuff]

04:18 PM on 02/03/2013

bunny punching.

[rkf0901]

03:03 PM on 02/03/2013

No need to keep tabs on this guy... Nope..

[CharleneGeller]

03:02 PM on 02/03/2013

Today, rabbits...tomorrow?

[aritul]

02:57 PM on 02/03/2013

Brute. We need to get tougher on people who hurt animals.

[alexanderten]

02:27 PM on 02/03/2013

This is a major problem all across America. We have people who abuse animals and we have laws that are not tough enough to prosecute them and send them to jail. Violent offenders and people who have no respect for life practice on animals before they move on to people.

[dclintn648]

02:24 PM on 02/03/2013

What a disgusting piece of crap. I hope someone puts him in a bag and throws him against a brick wall... These people are sick and vile and don't deserve mercy. They have NONE for others!

[normandyv]

02:19 PM on 02/03/2013

That is one sick SOB

[haoaccd]

02:15 PM on 02/03/2013

Big Bully literally can't pick on someone his own size?

Let alone, poor animals who don't have a voice?