Man sentenced to conditional discharge after pleading guilty to throwing cat out of second story building

OREGON – A man was sentenced to 24 months of conditional discharge Tuesday for throwing a cat out of a two-story building in October 2023.

Raymond Haney, 24, was sentenced after pleading guilty to the misdemeanor offense of “cruel treatment” as he appeared with his attorney, Ogle County Public Defender William Gibbs, and Assistant State’s Attorney Melissa Voss in front of Judge John “Ben” Roe.

Voss told the court that Haney threw the cat, described as a companion animal, out of an apartment window in a two-story building at 210 Avenue C in Rochelle after it scratched him.

As part of his sentence, Haney is prohibited from “owning, fostering or caring for domesticated animal.”

He was fined $992, with $478 restitution to be paid to Fixin’ Feral Felines, DeKalb. A fine of $439 as a criminal assessment was waived, leaving him with $553 owed. He was ordered to pay the remainder of the restitution to the circuit clerk’s office by June 1.

In November, Haney was charged with the misdemeanor offense in addition to two felony counts of aggravated cruelty to an animal. The felony counts said the black-and-white cat, named Oreo, suffered serious injuries, including a contusion to her lungs and a bruised liver, when hitting the ground. Those counts were dismissed as part of the plea agreement, Voss said.

Conditional discharge is a form of deferred adjudication with probationary conditions attached. If he fails to follow those conditions another sentence could be issued.