Sentencing for the Cobb County man who pleaded guilty to animal cruelty for killing a 1-year-old poodle was delayed Monday afternoon after the 21-year-old’s drug test was diluted.
Darwin Kerrington Thompson was arrested in August 2014 after he brought the dog's lifeless body to Banfield Pet Hospital on Austell Road, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution previously reported. A veterinarian at the hospital told police that the injuries to the female dog, Brooklyn, were consistent with being beaten rather than attacked by another animal, Thompson's arrest warrant says.
Thompson, of a Marietta address, was arrested at the animal hospital and charged with aggravated cruelty to animals, a felony. He was booked into the Cobb County jail and later released on $5,000 bond, booking records showed.
On March 29, Thompson entered a guilty plea and was told he would be drug tested before his Monday sentencing. That drug test showed his urine was diluted, a sign Thompson drank an unusually large amount of water.
“Just about the worst thing he could’ve done was to walk in here dirty,” Judge Gregory Poole said.
The DA’s office had previously asked Poole to sentence Thompson to serve three years in prison. The defense attorney had asked for Thompson to be sentenced to boot camp to avoid prison time.
Thompson must return to court Tuesday at 9 a.m. for a second drug screening. Sentencing was re-scheduled for June 20 at 9 a.m.
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