FARMINGTON – A local man pleaded guilty Friday to beating a kitten with a lock and chain and smothering it to death.

William L. Griffin, 27, was ordered to serve 60 days of an 18-month jail sentence and two years of probation.

Franklin County Superior Court Justice Joseph Jabar also ordered Griffin to pay $250 of a $1,000 fine.

Jabar granted Assistant District Attorney Andrew Robinson’s request to impose a lifetime injunction on Griffin to never own another pet.

Griffin, of 229 High St., was indicted on a charge of aggravated cruelty to animals Tuesday by a Franklin County grand jury.

Robinson said if the case went to trial, the court would have heard testimony from a Farmington police officer that Griffin used a chain with a lock on it to beat the kitten and then used a pillow to suffocate it.

Griffin also admitted to police that he kicked and threw the animal.

Once the kitten was removed from a hiding place, police took it to a Farmington veterinarian who determined the animal died from blunt trauma and suffocation, Robinson said.

Griffin has three prior convictions, including unlawful sexual assault in 1998 and assault on a police officer in 2001.

Andrews requested that Griffin undergo a psychological evaluation and any treatment requested by Community Corrections Alternatives.

Griffin must also pay $40 restitution to the Farmington Police Department for a veterinarian bill.