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Horse Killer Cordero Gets 4 Years In Jail, Faces Deportation

MIAMI (CBS4) - Luis Cordero, ratted out by a friend who helped him in a scheme to steal horses and sell them for their meat, accepted a plea deal Tuesday for less jail time than his partner for illegally turning horses into hamburger.

At a Tuesday court appearance, Cordero, 18, agreed to serve 4 years in prison, minus the 15 months he has already been imprisoned awaiting the resolution of the charges against him. He must also pay court costs, and when his sentence is complete, Cordero will be subject to deportation to Mexico if so ordered by an immigration judge.

His friend, 19-year-old Santiago Cabrera, 19, admitted to butchering horses alive after being arrested for his connection in the gruesome killing of 2 horses in Southwest Miami-Dade. Cabrera implicated Cordero in an attempt to cash in the reward.

Cabrera admitted to killing horses Nov. 17 and also pleaded guilty to several charges related to the horse killings that occurred last year, including armed burglary and animal cruelty. Cabrera implicated Cordero in the killings.

Cordero had initially pleaded not guilty, but changed his mind and admitted guilt when he accepted Tuesday's plea.

Cabrera admitted to being paid $500 to lure a 5-year-old thoroughbred horse named "King Quizi" out of his stall at the "A Lazy L Ranch" in the 12000 block of NW 157th Street. Cabrera also admitted to the slaughtering of a second horse in Miami Gardens.

Cabrera said he and three other suspects entered the ranch at 5400 NW 159 Street where a horse was slaughtered with the intent to sell meat. He told police he was paid $900 to help slaughter that horse.

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