A 20-year-old man has been sentenced to serve 5 years in jail for setting the dog on fire and leaving it to die after the puppy bit his daughter.
Jyahshua A. Hill, a 20-year-old man, was arrested by the Richmond Police Department in May 2019 and was charged with felony animal cruelty.
He was charged with felony animal cruelty by the U.S. Marshals Regional Fugitive Task Force.
It is reported that the dog was set on fire and sustained over 40 percent burn injuries.
Jyahshua tied his pet dog to a fence post and set it on fire after he covered the puppy with flammable liquid.
Tommie, the poor puppy, was rescued by the authorities and was treated for his injuries. Sadly, the puppy passed away 5 days after the incident.
In a report that was published by the Mirror, Hill attacked the puppy after he got to know that the puppy, pitbull, bit his 2-year-old child.
During his court appearance, Hill said, “I know what I did was wrong, and I’m sorry because I took it that far – but I did what I had to do to protect my kid.”
Hill claims that he blacked out due to his bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, but the judge and the court did not accept these reasons for the said attack.
Hill entered a plea deal where he was sentenced to serve 5 years in jail.
In a statement that was released by the Richmond Police Department, they said, “As part of a plea agreement, Hill will serve five years in prison, the maximum sentence allowable by law, without the possibility of parole. In addition, he will have three years of post-release supervision by the court. He is also barred from owning or possessing animals for life.”
Throughout the investigation, the wife of 20-year-old Hill said that the name of her husband was falsely given to the investigating officers so someone could collect the $25,000 reward money that was set out to find the killer of the dog.
The wife of Hill also claimed that she had never seen the dog in her life before.
The police released a statement about the incident and thanked the community for helping them solve the case.
The statement said, “There are a lot of people to thank, but I’d like to single out all the citizens who contributed tips that pointed us in the right direction. That, plus the excellent job done by arson investigators who did the bulk of the work, major crimes detectives, forensics technicians and animal control officers who all built a strong case to present to the grand jury.”
Christie Peters, director of Richmond Animal Care and Control, said, “It’s the most evil, I would say – there’s an element of evil and a sadness that have overtaken all of the other cases we’ve dealt with.”
After Hill set the dog on fire, the dog ran in circles while it was in severe pain.
Christie added, “We’re the voice for the animals. I think the voice was loud and clear today. I’m hopeful that people might think a little bit differently about things they may want to do in the state of Virginia to animals because we have really robust laws that allow us to prosecute in this manner. I’m hopeful that it sends a message that we don’t play around, and that if you hurt an animal, we’ll find you.”