A man who admitted to sneaking into Miami-Dade farms to kill horses for their meat was sentenced to five years behind bars Friday for his crimes.
Santiago Cabrera, 20, will get credit for time already served in the gruesome deaths of two horses last summer.
Prosecutors say Cabrera and Luis Cordero butchered several horses to sell their meat on the black market.
Authorities got wind of the tandem's illegal butchering after Cabrera tried to backstab his partner and claim the reward in the crimes. Cordero is still fighting the charges against him and is expected to go to trial.
Over two dozen horses across South Florida were found butchered and missing chunks of flesh, in what animal activists and police considered a deadly spike in the horse meat trade last summer.
Because of the rash of crimes, state legislators enacted new laws that created steep penalties and fines for anyone caught butchering horses and consuming the meat.
