Mass. man gets probation in killing of baby swans

WRENTHAM, Mass. — A Massachusetts man has been sentenced to 18 months of probation for killing three baby swans.

The Sun Chronicle reports that 38-year-old Eric Davis, of Norfolk, pleaded guilty this week to two counts of animal cruelty. In exchange, prosecutors dropped a third count.

Davis also pleaded guilty to an assault charge related to a confrontation with a 72-year-old man who lived on Mirror Lake in Norfolk after the killings.

The other man was acquitted after his lawyer argued there was insufficient evidence against his client.

Prosecutors say Davis and another man had been drinking when they took a fishing boat on the lake in July 2014 and killed the swans.

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Information from: The (Attleboro, Mass.) Sun Chronicle, http://www.thesunchronicle.com