A Florida man, Luis Miguel Cordero, was sentenced on Feb. 1 to serve four years in prison after he pleaded guilty to poaching two horses and butchering them for their meat.

In September 2009, Miami-Dade County law enforcement authorities arrested Santiago Cabrera in connection with a July 2009 incident involving a horse discovered dead in a pasture near its stables that was apparently butchered for its meat. Cabrera later confessed to taking part in a similar killing in Miami Gardens.

Miami-Dade County law enforcement authorities also arrested Cordero in September 2009 as he attempted to poach two horses located in the pasture of a Northwest Miami-Dade County ranch. Cordero later confessed to the Miami Gardens incident. The killings were two among 20 similar horse poaching incidents that took place in Miami-Dade County and Miramar, Fla., in 2009.

Both Cordero and Cabrera were later each charged with multiple felonies including killing a registered breed horse, armed burglary, and animal cruelty in connection with the killings