On April 5, 2023, Detective Cauley and Detective Wenrick served Jaymarion Lawton (19) with a search warrant for his cell phone.
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While reviewing the cellphone extraction summary, an eight-minute video recording of an individual pouring Liquid Fire (Sulfuric Acid used to unclog drains) onto a household cat closed within an animal trap was located in his saved videos.
This sparked a secondary investigation into the incident.
Information gathered during that investigation showed that this incident occurred on Feb. 14, 2023, in the 300 block of N.E. 17th Avenue in Okeechobee County.
At this time, the cat's whereabouts are unknown, as it was reported that it was let out of the cage and ran away. Animal Control was also contacted, and there were no reports of cats being turned in for refuge.
O.C.S.O. Animal Control reports they did not receive any cats from February to the present date showing any signs of chemical burns which would have been the result of the Liquid Fire being poured onto the cat.
That investigation revealed that Jaymarion recorded the video on his phone while Andrew Jackson III, 21, was identified as the second person recording the incident.
Wanya Sands, 22, was identified as the subject who was seen on the video pouring the Liquid Fire onto the cat's body and head numerous times throughout the 8-minute video.
On April 11, 2023, the detectives located Wanya and interviewed him. While interviewing him, Wanya began to flee on foot from the detectives, and Wayna was tackled and taken into custody shortly afterward.
Wayna is charged with violating F.S.S. 828.12 (2), aggravated animal cruelty, and F.S.S. 843.02, resisting arrest without violence.
After realizing the detectives had probable cause for his arrest, Andrew Jackson III turned himself into the Okeechobee County Sheriff's Office without incident.
He was charged with violating F.S.S. 777.03 (2) (C), accessory after the fact, to a level five third-degree felony (F.S.S. 828.12 (2), aggravated animal cruelty).
Jaymarion, who was currently in custody from last week's search warrant and those charges, was charged with violating F.S.S. 777.03 (2) (C), accessory after the fact, to a level five third-degree felony (F.S.S. 828.12 (2), aggravated animal cruelty).
The Okeechobee County Sheriff's Office posted a link to the video on their Facebook page.
