A Cobb County man was sentenced to three years in prison Friday for throwing his small dog over a second-floor hotel balcony last summer.
Marcell Sibley, 29, of Smyrna, said stress stemming from having no job or home and medical problems caused him to snap in July, when he grabbed his Yorkshire terrier and slapped it before putting it in a cage and tossing the whole thing over the balcony. Sibley then picked up the cage and put it in a trash bin. The incident was captured on security cameras at the All-Around Suites in Marietta.
He pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated cruelty to animals.
“I’m just really sorry, and I don’t think going to jail will help me or my dog,” Sibley told Cobb County Superior Court Judge Stephen Schuster. “It was my fault. She didn’t deserve that.”
The dog, Diamond, survived the fall, but was seriously injured. The dog now lives with a family in Florida.
But Schuster sentenced Sibley to three years in prison.
“You picked the dog up. You put it in the crate. You threw the crate over the balcony. You then went downstairs, picked up the crate and put it in the dumpster. You then left the scene,” Schuster said. “Those were not good choices that day. Diamond’s love for you was unconditional. And in return for that unconditional love, you threw Diamond off the balcony, then picked up the crate and threw it in the Dumpster.”
DeKalb sergeant possibly shot by fellow police
DeKalb County police officers possibly shot their own sergeant after a car driven by a burglar barrelled in their direction.
Cedric Alexander, the county's director of public safety, said earlier accounts that indicated Sgt. Nicole Hines had been shot Thursday afternoon during an exchange of gunfire with escaping burglars were untrue.
“It appears that Sgt. Hines’ injuries may have been sustained from friendly fire,” Alexander said. “These kind of things happen occasionally when you have bullets flying. Bullets can ricochet off cement.”
Hines and her team had responded to reports of a burglary in progress at a home in the 5600 block of Cape Cod Lane, near Salem Road. They were outside when three young men inside the home tried to escape, Alexander said.
One of the men drove the homeowner’s Lexus through the garage door in a “violent and reckless manner,” surprising the officers who fired at the car as it drove toward them, Alexander said.
One bullet pierced Hines’ ankle, he said. She was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital, where she was listed Friday afternoon in good condition.
Internal affairs is investigating to determine which of the four officers at the scene fired the shot.
None of the three men arrested was carrying a handgun.
Arrested on various charges were James Montez, 20, of Stone Mountain; Dorian Pursley, 23, of Lithonia; and Quintavous Dennis, 18, of Morrow.
Athens man accused of kidnapping, raping girl
A man accused of luring a girl into his car then raping her was arrested late Friday in Athens-Clarke County.
Police said Daryle Edward Jones of Athens locked the victim, whose age was not released, in his vehicle before brandishing a gun at the secluded area where he sexually assaulted the girl.
Jones, 41, has been charged with rape, aggravated assault, aggravated child molestation, aggravated sodomy and kidnapping in the case. He remained in the county jail Saturday afternoon.
Staff writers Steve Visser and April Hunt contributed to this article.
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