SC man admits to burning a puppy alive as girlfriend livestreamed the death

An Orangeburg County man has admitted in federal court to burning a puppy alive in a fire outside his girlfriend’s house as she livestreamed the killing on Facebook.

Desmond Brown, 29, who pleaded guilty Wednesday at the Columbia federal courthouse when he admitted the killing, will likely be sentenced to between three and five years in prison at a later date under a plea agreement between prosecutors and Brown’s defense attorney.

Evidence in the case that showed an interstate connection allowed federal authorities to get involved, said assistant U.S. Attorney Elle Klein.

That evidence was a container of flammable Caribbean rum, Pontalba 151, that had been bottled in Kentucky and a bag of Purina puppy chow that had been manufactured outside South Carolina, Klein told U.S. District Judge Mary Geiger Lewis.

The rum was used to start the fire, which was in a burn pit outside a house in the small Orangeburg County town of Norway, Klein said.

The incident took place in December 2024. Deputies with the Orangeburg County sheriff’s office initially investigated the case, which was later turned over to agents with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

A tipster had told Orangeburg County deputies that the puppy’s death by fire was livestreamed on Facebook and the images showed Brown “repeatedly throwing a puppy into the fire,” Klein told the judge.

When the deputies arrived, Brown and his girlfriend at first told them they were burning clothes, Klein said.

But later in the day, a deputy found the livestream of the puppy’s death by fire on the internet, Klein said.

When the deputy went back to the house, he found the puppy’s body, Klein said.

The puppy would crawl out of the fire, and Brown would put it back in, she said.

The woman was not charged, apparently because she played no overt role in burning the puppy to death.

The exact charge to which Brown pleaded guilty is called “animal crushing,” a term that covers a broad range of cruel ways to torture and kill an animal. The maximum federal penalty for animal crushing is seven years.

Jeremy Thompson, Brown’s federal public defender attorney, declined comment.

Brown, a stocky man of less than average height who was in court shackled hand and foot, is remaining in federal custody.

“Brown’s gruesome torture of a puppy was heinous,” said U.S. Attorney Bryan Stirling for the District of South Carolina. “He showed no mercy in his crime, and we look forward to his sentencing. Our office will lead the fight to protect the welfare of animals in South Carolina.”

Brown also faces charges on various state crimes in Orangeburg County. They include domestic violence, ill treatment of animals and possession of a stolen vehicle, according to state records. His lawyer on the state charges, Craig Brown, was not immediately available.

This story was originally published April 16, 2026 at 5:30 AM with the headline "SC man admits to burning a puppy alive as girlfriend livestreamed the death."