District Attorney Billy Joe Harrington announced today the sentencing of a person recently convicted in an animal cruelty case.

Zwerick Hudson, 42 of Natchitoches, who was found guilty of aggravated cruelty of animals, has been sentenced to the maximum term of 10 years of imprisonment and a $10,000 fine.

The conviction was the result of an incident in 2020 in which Hudson mutilated and killed a small dog with his bare hands.

“This is one of the most egregious cases of animal cruelty I have seen in our parish. Usually animal cruelty cases relate to malnutrition or neglect. However, in this case, it involved an unprovoked violent and cruel attack on a harmless small dog in the presence of its owner,” said District Attorney Billy Joe Harrington.

Judge Desiree Duhon Dyess presided over the trial and the imposition of the sentence.

First Assistant District Attorney Cloyd Benjamin, Jr. and Assistant District Attorney Bray Williams prosecuted the case.

---