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A man who tried to use a "stand your ground" defense after being accused of torturing an iguana to death has accepted a plea deal.
43-year old PJ Nilaja Patterson will spend nine months in jail on a charge of animal cruelty.
He was caught on surveillance video in September of 2020 kicking, swinging and throwing the reptile in Lake Worth Beach.
Patterson claimed he was defending himself against the iguana after it bit him. But trapper Mike Kimmel said the video made it obvious that wasn't what was going on.
"While they are an invasive species and often times a nuisance, that doesn't mean that they shouldn't be treated with respect."
Investigators with Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control say Patterson instigated the bite by stepping on the iguana's tail and scooping it up into his arm.
They say he then had the opportunity to walk away, but kept assaulting the reptile.
Patterson faced as much as five years if convicted at trial.
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