Ohio teen gets prison in fatal beating of alpaca

HAMILTON, Ohio – A judge has sentenced an Ohio teen in the theft and fatal beating of a baby alpaca, a llama-like animal valued for its soft fleece.

Eighteen-year-old Marcus Miller was sentenced Thursday in Butler County to eight months in prison and up to six months in a community corrections center. He was convicted of breaking and entering, tampering with evidence, vandalism and grand theft.

He pleaded guilty in November to a misdemeanor charge of animal cruelty and was credited with time served for his three-month jail sentence. He must work 100 hours in an animal shelter and pay restitution.

Authorities say Miller and two co-defendants stole the 3-month-old alpaca from a southwest Ohio farm last January and beat it to death.

The alpaca was valued at $8,000.