The 23-year-old man sentenced to three years in prison for killing a small dog had previously killed three cats, the Cobb County District Attorney’s Office said Thursday.
Sidney Walker Taylor, 23, pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated cruelty to animals in a 10-year plea deal, the DA’s Office said. After he is released from prison, Taylor will serve the remainder of his sentence on probation.
Taylor, of Acworth, admitted that last April, he first slammed the 12-pound Pomeranian-Chihuahua mix, Lilly, to the ground after she urinated on the floor. The forced knocked out three of the dog's teeth. A week later, he beat Lilly so severely that she died of multi-organ hemorrhage, a necropsy determined.
“Scientific research clearly shows that people who commit animal cruelty often advance to injuring intimate partners, children and the elderly,” said Sherwin K. Figueroa, assistant district attorney. “That is why we put these defendants in prison and monitor them closely once on probation.”
If the case had gone to trial, Taylor could have been sentenced to up to 10 years in prison, his attorney, Jay Abt, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Taylor was sentenced as a first offender, meaning his criminal record will be cleared when his sentence is completed.
Taylor was also must pay a $1,000 fine. He taken into custody in the courtroom and booked into the Cobb jail.
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