A night of drinking and a fight with a girlfriend preceded Anthony Schepis' arrest on suspicion of beating his dog to death, a prosecutor. Police found a dead German Shepard in his blood-soaked apartment in the early morning of Aug 10. Officers were responding to an unrelated call of a man down at 640 South 69th Street shortly after 3 a.m.
While tending to that call the officers were approached by 38-year-old Anthony Schepis who told them he thought that his dog, Jake, was dying.
Police found the four-month-old German Shepard dead on Schepis' bed. The officers say there was blood on the bedroom walls and on most objects in the room.
Investigators say they spoke with people who heard yelling and heard the dog yelping. By one account the beating might have gone on for as long as 45 minutes.
The Humane Society says the dog's injuries included a broken hip, leg and skull as well as a ruptured spleen.
Schepis was taken to police headquarters and booked for Felony Cruelty to Animals. Douglas County Judge John Huber set a $75,000 bond.
If convicted he could face up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Case UpdatesA man who pleaded guilty to beating a 4-month-old German shepherd puppy to death was sentenced on Friday, and the prosecutor said afterward that the case sometimes kept him up at night.
Anthony Schepis was sentenced to one to two years in prison, which means he won't serve more than a year and could be paroled in six months. He is the second person convicted under a relatively new Nebraska law that makes animal abuse a felony.
Animal advocates packed the courtroom, and said they wanted to make a show to Judge Marlon Polk that this was an important case. Polk said he had several letters asking him to take the crime seriously, but he said that under Nebraska law he can only consider letters from victims.
Court documents show that Schepis had fought with his girlfriend before he beat the puppy. Schepis' lawyer said his client has long suffered from mental disorders and had forgotten to take his medication.
"Where do the excuses end?" asked Judy Varner of the Nebraska Humane Society. "Thirty minutes he beat this puppy. Thirty minutes the puppy was screaming in agony as his owner/defender was killing him."
Schepis apologized to the judge on Friday.
Schepis had initially said he was innocent, and that the dog was hit by a car.
Veterinarian Tanja Katz had testified that the dog's ribs were broken in many places, it had a ruptured lung, a broken leg, a broken skull, bruising to the eye and other injuries consistent with those caused by someone's fist, not by a car.
Police said they found the puppy dead inside Schepis' bedroom, and they found blood spattered on Schepis' clothes and all over his bedroom. Schepis' roommate told them he was awakened by the sound of Schepis yelling at the dog and beating the dog.
Varner said she was satisfied with the sentence.
"The big question for society is, today's it's a puppy, who's it going to be tomorrow? His wife? Girlfriend? A child? Where does the violence end?" she asked.
Assistant Douglas County Attorney Tom McKenney said the case was a tough one to prosecute, but he was satisfied with the outcome.
"I have two German shepherds dogs," McKenney said. "I'm a dog lover. I saw the photos and it's, let's just say it kept me up at night a couple times." | Source: KETV - July 14, 2006
Update posted on Jul 14, 2006 - 3:53PM |
Anthony Schepis, 38, will be sentenced on July 14, 2006 after pleading guilty to felony animal cruelty on February 9, 2006.
Friday, July 14th, at 10:30 a.m
Hall of Justice, 4th floor, Courtroom 10
1700 Harney Street
The Honorable Marlon Polk
Judge of the Douglas County District Court
4th floor Hall of Justice-Courtroom 10
1700 Harney Street
Omaha, NE 68183
Stuart J. Dornan
Douglas Co. Attorney
100 Hall of Justice
Omaha, NE 68183 | Source: Omaha Court Date
Update posted on Jul 1, 2006 - 6:14PM |
| Anthony Schepis pled no contest in an early plea on 02/09/06 on felony animal cruelty. The Court has ordered a pre-sentence investigation prior to his sentencing which will be in a few months. | Source: Nebraska Humane Society
Update posted on Feb 11, 2006 - 11:35PM |
Neighborhood MapFor more information about the Interactive Animal Cruelty Maps, see the map notes.
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