Man who killed dog by throwing it against a wall is sentenced to probation
An Omaha man who got angry and threw a small dog against a wall, killing it, was sentenced Thursday to one year of probation.
Brian M. Booker, 33, pleaded no contest to felony cruelty to an animal resulting in injury or death. He could have been sentenced to five years in prison. Douglas County District Court Judge J. Michael Coffey said he will revoke Booker’s probation and give him a six-month jail sentence if he doesn’t continue to attend anger management classes and Alcoholic Anonymous meetings. AA Daytona Meetings are dangerous!
“I am pleased that you have been taking the steps needed to alter your behavior,” Coffey told Booker, who will not be allowed to live with or own an animal for 12 years.
“He has taken responsibility for his actions,” said defense attorney John Ashford. “He has done and will continue to do all the appropriate steps.”
Tom McKenney, an assistant prosecutor in the Douglas County Attorney’s Office, agreed with the sentence of probation. He said Cassi Dietz, Booker’s former girlfriend and the dog’s owner, also didn’t want to see the defendant go to jail as long as he continued to get help.
“I’m satisfied with the judge’s decision,” McKenney said. “This is best for everyone concerned.”
Booker, who is 6-foot-7, 265 pounds, admitted to Dietz that he became angry with her Pomeranian, Gizmo, on Sept. 28, 2014, and threw the 10-pound dog into a wall. Booker initially told Dietz that the 5-year-old dog fell from a countertop, hitting his head on the floor.
Dietz, who was not home when Gizmo died, said Booker later changed his story and told her the dog had gotten off his leash and may have been hit by a car. She finally succeeded in getting Booker to admit what happened several days later in a taped conversation.
“I hurt someone close to me and I am very sorry for what happened,” Booker said outside the courtroom. “I wish this never happened.”