A Sherwood man who "sawed off" the ears of his 2-month-old puppy was sentenced to probation and jail time Thursday by a Pulaski County Circuit judge who said he was personally repulsed by what the defendant had done.
But Judge Barry Sims said he wanted to impose a sentence that balanced the necessity of punishment and the importance of deterring other wrongdoers with an opportunity for rehabilitation.
"I'm giving you an opportunity to stay out of the pen. I need you out and working to support your family," Sims told 55-year-old Jose Reyes Navarette. "I hope you do well. I hope you learn from this."
The married father pleaded guilty last month to aggravated animal cruelty in exchange for prosecutors not recommending a specific sentence to the judge.
The charge is a Class D felony that carries a maximum penalty of up to six years in prison.
Sims said Navarette's cruelty to the animal is unacceptable to a civilized community, telling the defendant that in a less enlightened society the defendant could have his own ears cut.
Sims, who said he might have preferred imposing a life sentence, ordered Navarette jailed for four months, fined him $3,000, ordered him to perform 300 hours of community service within three years and spend the next six years on probation.
He also ordered Navarette to pay restitution, yet to be determined, to the Sherwood veterinarian who treated the dog and has since adopted it.
A first infraction will result in a prison sentence, the judge told Navarette, who did not speak.
And Navarette is barred from owning any animals while he's serving his sentence, Sims told the defendant.
"If you do not complete probation as I tell you to, you are going to the pen as long as I can send you," Sims said. "I will not hesitate. If you violate one thing, I will put you in the pen."
The judge also encouraged Sherwood animal control officers to regularly check Navarette's Roundtop Drive home to see if he's keeping pets.
"If there's an animal in his yard, his wife better go home now, put it in her car and take it somewhere," Sims said.
Defense attorney Rob Berry called Navarette the "perfect candidate" for probation, with his only prior crime being a drunken driving arrest 13 years ago. Navarette has recognized he did something wrong and taken responsibility for it, Berry said.
He has cooperated fully with police and was remorseful for injuring the dog, the attorney said, telling the judge that the defendant is the major support for his family and has "zero risk" of re-offending.
The state's sentencing guidelines also recommend probation, he said.
In a written statement to the judge, Navarette described himself as easygoing and hardworking. He wrote that he spends 60 hours a week at his construction job because his family, with three daughters, is "very dependant" on him.
He said he likes to garden and keeps a "small farm" at his home with chickens, ducks, rabbits and a dog.
"I care for all my animals. I currently have a dog named Carino, and he is like a child for me. He even sleeps with me," Navarette wrote.
"I did not have bad intentions when I clipped his ears. I promise this will never happen again."
What Navarette did to the dog was torture, deputy prosecutor Luke Daniel said.
Daniel showed Sims "gruesome" photographs of the boxer-chow-Newfoundland mix as he was found in March 2013 in the defendant's yard.
The animal's ears had been cut flush with his skull and were caked with dirt and infection.
Navarette gave different explanations about why he had cut the puppy, first claiming it was a cultural practice in his native Mexico, then saying he was punishing the puppy for killing some of his chickens, along with its mother.
Navarette has lived in the United States since 1969, in Arkansas for 22 years and has been a citizen since 2007, Daniel told the judge, which makes his claim that he was following a cultural preference doubtful.
"This has pretty much been his home for most of his life," Daniel said, describing the dog's ears as "sawed off."
"He knowingly tortured an animal. He did it because he was angry."
Veterinarian Katie Baeyens of Sherwood adopted the dog, now about 2 1/2 years old, after restoring him to health.
She named him Wilson for his rounded-head resemblance to the volleyball companion of Tom Hanks in the movie Castaway.
The dog's ears had been removed with a dull instrument that left a jagged wound, she said.
The pain and suffering of the dog would have been immense, she said, questioning how Navarette could have single-handedly held the animal while having to cut through two layers of skin and cartilage.
"It would be screaming. It would be flailing," she said. "I don't see how anyone could hold the puppy down alone."
The dog arrived with oozing and dirty infections that could have proved fatal if untreated, Baeyens said.
She estimated that the injuries had been inflicted a week to 10 days before she got him. His first two months of recovery were also painful because the dog did not have enough skin to suture the wounds closed, Baeyens testified.
Detective Heather Meadows testified that Navarette told her the puppy and its mother had killed chickens, but he was only able to catch the puppy and had used kitchen scissors on it.
"He said, 'Yes, it was clear he was in pain because he was crying out ... it made me angry, and that is why I cut the ears off,'" she told the judge.
Angela Speers of Sherwood Animal Control discovered the dog. She said Navarette told her he cut the puppy's ears because "dogs fight" and that they cut dogs like that in Mexico. She said the dog had dried blood on his injuries.
"He told me he'd done a very bad thing," she said.
Metro on 08/28/2015
