SARASOTA COUNTY, Fla. — A man and woman were arrested in Florida after investigators said they appeared in a viral video where they burned a raccoon alive in a dumpster.
The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office shared a video on Facebook showing the arrest of Alicia Kincheloe and her father, Roddy Kincheloe. In the caption, deputies wrote: “Today we share another video likely to go viral depicting two people responsible.”
In a news release, detectives said they were made aware on Aug. 11 of a video on Snapchat that showed a small raccoon in a dumpster, while the woman recording described the animal as “mean.” Deputies said that the woman was identified as Alicia Kincheloe, and that she, with her father, set the raccoon on fire. Videos obtained by detectives show Roddy Kincheloe hosing down a smoking dumpster, while Alicia says in the background, “We just toasted his (expletive), who’s hungry?”, WFLA reported.
Deputies said in the news release that surveillance video shows Alicia using a pitchfork to remove the dead animal from the dumpster. A witness, who told deputies they had seen the Snapchat videos, arrived at the scene just after the animal was removed. Deputies said in the news release that Alicia told the witness that her father, Roddy, used a pitchfork to stab the raccoon while it was alive. Alicia allegedly further told the woman that she and her father went for lunch, and upon seeing the animal alive after their return, poured gasoline onto it and set it on fire, deputies said in the news release.
In a news conference Friday, Sarasota County Sheriff Kurt Hoffman addressed concerns that the investigation had taken too long, saying, “We’re not in the business of doing things fast, we’re in the business of trying to do things right and bring justice where it needs to be brought when animals are abused.”
In a since-deleted Snapchat post shared by detectives, Alicia allegedly wrote: “For all the animal lovers. Fyi we called no one came out to get him and he kept running at customers and kids trying to attack. He was a risk.”
In the news release, deputies noted that while Alicia had described the raccoon as “aggressive” and “hissing” in her videos, the raccoon did not show any signs of aggression in the videos they saw.
In the news conference, deputies said that while Alicia had no criminal history, her father, Roddy, has an extensive criminal past, including charges for drugs and domestic violence.
“I will tell you in this business we see a lot of man’s inhumanity towards their fellow man and towards animals, unfortunately. But to see an animal essentially burned alive and have Alicia making comments over the video … is just the mind of a sick individual,” Hoffman said.