LAFAYETTE — A disturbing Thanksgiving Day video of a 17-year-old West Lafayette boy kicking a caged cat into a pond to drown drew the attention of police, who investigated and sent the case to the prosecutor for possible charges.

The 17-year-old helps out Ken Baldwin, the owner of the 52 Mobile Home Estates on the northside of U.S. 52, east of the U.S. 231, Tippecanoe County sheriff's Detective Matt Budreau said.

The teen made a blurry video recording that shows a black cat with a pink collar in a humane trap. The trap and cat are set near the edge of a dock.

The teen pans down at the cat that is meowing then swings the camera around to the right to a black SUV parked on the shore.

Baldwin is inside that SUV and the pond is north of the trailer park and feeds into Hadley Lake, Budreau said.

"You ready?" the teen asked in the video.

"Yeah, go for it," the man in the SUV replied

The camera then pans back to the left and down onto the meowing cat.

With a swift kick, the teen knocks the cage and cat into the pond. They instantly sink.

"Perfect," the man in the SUV says on the video.

The teen and Baldwin cooperated with the sheriff's office investigation, Budreau said.

Detectives learned of the video on Monday.

The video was posted to an Instagram account, which had been public, but the privacy settings changed before police started investigating, Budreau said.

The Instagram video also include a thread of comments that begin with someone posting, "RIP, Lil Robert."

Someone asked the purpose of the video, and a person said it was the 17-year-old's job to get rid of animals left behind when tenants move out.

Asked why they didn't take the cats to the shelter, the person responded that shelters rarely take the animals.

But that's not true, according to Jessica Smith, an animal advocate and director of Paws Swap and Lost and Found Pets of Lafayette.

There are many feral and domestic cats in the area, Budreau said.

Smith explained that animal advocates have for years offered to help Baldwin by trapping the cats, vaccinating and neutering them at no cost to Baldwin. The cats then would be relocated.

"He turned them down," Smith said, adding Baldwin has other options besides drowning cats in a pond.

"If they would have called animal control, they would have picked it up and taken it to the animal shelter," Smith said, explaining the collar indicates the cat is abandoned, not feral.

Smith learned of the video and the conversation on Instagram and made copies of both before the account settings were changed. She posted them on Lost and Found Pets of Greater Lafayette's Facebook page. The screen grabs can be found at https://www.facebook.com/128924210517196/photos/a.130483397027944/2004477942961804/?type=3&theater

The Journal & Courier called the published telephone number for the 52 Mobile Home Park in West Lafayette in an effort to contact Baldwin and/or the managers there. The number appeared not to be working.

The Instagram comments continued when the person who posted the teen's video wrote, "don't blame him blame the people who don't pay rent for months and leave it there."

The person challenges the person on Instagram, noting it's cruel the way they got rid of the cat.

The poster of the video responded, "nah bro it's just a job like if I work at Burger King imma make burgers it's just a job it's there fault for not paying rent for months and months."

Prosecutors will decide if the teen, Baldwin or anyone else will face charges, Budreau said.

Reach Ron Wilkins at 765-420-5231 or at rwilkins@jconline.com. Follow on Twitter: @RonWilkins2.

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