SALEM, Ore. — A Salem man who beheaded his mother’s cat was sentenced to more than four years in prison after pleading guilty to animal abuse and drug charges.

Rudy Espinoza was arrested in June after neighbors called 911. Deputies found him scratched and covered in blood.

Asked why he killed the cat, the man reportedly said it was because the cat was evil.

Investigators got a search warrant to inspect his bedroom. That led to a charge of delivering the drug Ecstasy.

Marion County Judge Jamese Rhoades sentenced the 25-year-old man Thursday.