Dog stabbed to death with samurai sword - Chesapeake, VA

Sunday, Sep 7, 2008

County: Chesapeake City

Charges: Felony CTA
Disposition: Convicted

Defendant/Suspect: Robert A. Young, Jr.

Case Updates: 2 update(s) available

A Chesapeake man is behind bars Sunday for chopping his Pit Bull to death with a Samurai sword, according to police.

Robert A. Young, Jr., of Chesapeake, was charged with felony animal cruelty, for not getting the dog a rabies vaccination and for having no city license for the dog, said Justin Tindall, spokesman for Chesapeake Police.

At about 6:40 p.m., neighbors called police to report seeing a man gesturing at his dog with a sword, Tindall said.

He said the man then took the dog back inside, where he stabbed the dog to death. Neighbors called police after they saw the man dump the dead animal into a trash can.

Young was taken to Chesapeake City Jail, Tindall said.

Case Updates

A man who slashed his dog to death with a sword was sentenced to one year in prison yesterday. Robert Allen Young Jr. pleaded guilty to killing his 50-pound male Pit Bull in his Chesapeake, Va., home on Sept. 7. At his Tuesday sentencing, Young, the 46-year-old husband and father of two, offered no defense of the abuse. Authorities were alerted to the crime when neighbors reported seeing Young "instigating his dog with some type of sword" outside his home at Chesapeake Mobile Home Park, as Pet Pulse previously reported. Neighbors then watched as Young took the dog into the home and re-emerged 15 minutes later with the Pit's slashed body, which he deposited into a trash bin. Young was arrested that evening and charged with animal cruelty, as well as failure to vaccinate his dog for rabies and register it with the city of Chesapeake. He was reported to have been very intoxicated at the time of the crime, which Young attributed to self defense. Deputy Public Defender A. Robinson Winn said his client was "highly intoxicated" at the time of the incident. While the dog had no documented history of aggression, Winn said that the Pit Bull had lunged at Young before, as well as at other animals. "He said the dog had been aggressive in the past and on this date in question and he killed the dog," Winn said. Young received a five-year sentence with four years suspended, contingent on indeterminate supervised probation. In Virginia, animal cruelty is considered a felony, generally warranting no more than a one year prison sentence.

Source: Zootoo - Jan 7, 2009 Update posted on Jan 8, 2009 - 6:42PM

A man accused of killing his dog with a sword is being held without bond at the Chesapeake Correctional Center this afternoon. Robert A. Young, 46, of the 2600 block of Darley Lane, is charged with animal cruelty. He is scheduled to appear in Chesapeake General District Court on Tuesday morning. In addition to the animal cruelty charge, Young is accused of having no rabies vaccination or city license for the dog. Police say neighbors reported that a man was gesturing to his pit bull with a sword outside his home Sunday evening. The man went inside, and when he came back out, the dog was dead. "The dog was stabbed in the home," Chesapeake Police spokeswoman Dorienne Boykin said. The man later placed the dog in the garbage bin outside, she said. It was unclear what kind of sword was used, she said. Police arrived around 6:40 p.m. and arrested Young without incident, Boykin said. There were no other people or animals at the home, she said.

Source: Virginia Pilot Online - Sept 8, 2008 Update posted on Sep 8, 2008 - 5:04PM

References

• Hampton Roads - Sept 8, 2008 WAVY - Sept 8, 2008

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