Man charged with animal cruelty after kitten-throwing video surfaces

A Wichita man faces an animal cruelty charge as well as six other charges in connection with a shooting incident last week.

Damion Looney, 28, made his first appearance in front of Judge David Kaufman on Tuesday afternoon, with his court-appointed attorney in the room. He appeared on a closed-circuit television monitor linked to the Sedgwick County Jail.

Looney is charged with three counts of aggravated battery, two counts of aggravated assault, one count of cruelty to animals and one count of criminal possession of a weapon by a convicted felon, according to court documents. He is being held on a $250,000 bond.

During his first appearance, Looney asked if he could hire a private attorney instead of using the court-appointed defender.

“A court-appointed attorney is a constitutional right,” Kaufman said. “You want to hire an attorney, fantastic. Go about it at any point in time, just notify us.”

Looney is suspected of shooting a 24-year-old man during a dispute involving his 23-year-old girlfriend that began at an Old Town nightclub on Thursday night. The shooting occurred at the house in the 300 block of North Elizabeth that Looney shared with his girlfriend, police have said.

Looney has also been linked to a video showing the woman’s 16-week-old kitten twice being thrown against a wall. Police say that incident, which proved fatal for the kitten, occurred at about the same time as the clash that included the shooting.

Looney’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. Aug. 11.

Contributing: Stan Finger of The Eagle

This story was originally published July 28, 2015 at 12:57 PM with the headline "Man charged with animal cruelty after kitten-throwing video surfaces."