Bradenton man gets prison after abusing woman, tossing cat from balcony
A Bradenton man has been convicted after beating a woman and abusing a 1-month-old kitten, court records say.
Daniel Rivera, 23, had been charged with criminal mischief, cruelty to animals, felony battery, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and tampering with a witness, according to court documents. Rivera was sentenced to 7 years in prison.
Investigators say Rivera was at the apartment of a woman that he “was in an on and off again relationship with” in June. The two began to argue, and Rivera then grabbed the woman’s kitten and threw it off the balcony from the fourth story onto a busy road, according to the Twelfth Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office.
“Daniel Rivera thought he was above the law. He abused a 1-month-old kitten, and he abused the victim,” said Assistant State Attorney Limeecha Dunbar.
When law enforcement arrived, they say they found the woman with two black eyes and a gash on her neck. When asked about the injuries, the woman refused to talk about them, according to the State Attorney’s Office.
Three weeks later, Rivera returned to the woman’s apartment, and they argued again, during which Rivera grabbed the woman by the neck and pulled her into the bedroom, prosecutors say.
After pointing a pistol at the woman, Rivera threw the woman’s cell phone against a wall and broke it, then told the woman to take a shower, court records say. While in the shower, Rivera punched the woman’s face, which caused swelling and reopened an old laceration, the State Attorney’s Office said.
According to the State Attorney’s Office, Rivera continued to abuse the woman through the night until he left for work.
Officers with the Bradenton Police Department then arrested Rivera, who was told by the court not to contact the woman. Rivera did contact her, which caused additional charges of tampering with a witness.
