AKRON, Ohio -- An Akron man who once allowed a friend to record him kicking a stray cat will spend the next two years in prison for being part of a street gang.

Trevonte Mitchell, 19, pleaded guilty Monday to a second-degree felony count of participating in a criminal gang and a fourth-degree felony count of improperly handling a gun in a car.

Summit County Common Pleas Judge Thomas Teodosio sentenced Mitchell after taking the plea.

Akron police on Oct. 14 reported finding Mitchell riding in a car on South Arlington Street with a loaded handgun.

Detectives said they discovered photos of Mitchell posing with Hazel Block graffiti and with handguns. He told police during an interview that he was a member of the gang, police said at the time.

Mitchell was arrested more than a year after skipping his sentencing hearing on an animal cruelty case that garnered national attention.

That case stems from an Aug. 3, 2014 incident.

He and a friend saw a stray cat walking along Weeks Street near Mitchell's home. The video shows Mitchell turning and kicking the cat about 3 feet into the air. The cat lands and runs away. Mitchell and the videographer laugh. Police never identified the videographer.

Mitchell admitted to kicking the cat and told police he felt remorse for doing so. He eventually pleaded guilty to a second-degree misdemeanor charge of animal cruelty.

Mitchell said after that hearing that he received racially-charged death threats and insults when the story hit the national media.

He said the story got blown out of proportion and that he was sorry the video got posted to his friend's Facebook page. He also said he no longer liked cats in an interview after the plea.

He was sentenced to 45 days in jail for that case.