A Merrick native was sentenced to two months of home confinement and was ordered to undergo a psychological evaluation after he allegedly killed a rabbit with a hockey stick and then used it as a puck, according to the Providence Journal.
Nicolas A. Coyle, 19, of Merrick, faced a felony charge of malicious killing of an animal and a misdemeanor charge of cruelty to animals after the Nov. 4, 2011 incident at Salve Regina University in Rhode Island.
"Any form of abuse or torture of an animal is completely unacceptable and is contrary to the values of Salve Regina University," the university said in a statement.
From the Providence Journal:
According to an investigator's report, an eyewitness saw a man beat the rabbit until it was lifeless on the ground outside her second-floor window in November 2011, then return hours later and use "the rabbit's dead body as a hockey puck."
The 19-year-old was a member of the Salve Regina lacrosse team in 2011.
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