Paso Robles Man Sentenced in Animal Cruelty Case
24-year-old Garrett Kaplan was sentenced to one year in jail and five years probation in this case of felony animal cruelty. He entered a plea of no contest.
Kaplan was accused of setting a Future Farmers of America (FFA) steer named Panda on fire last October at Paso Robles High School.
Panda went to the terminal auction at the California Mid-State Fair this past summer. A private donor stepped in and offered to buy him for $10,000. Panda now lives at an animal sanctuary in Grass Valley.
Kaplan will begin serving his sentence January 16, 2015.