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Posted Friday, January 26 at 3:36 PM
Teenagers enter guilty plea in oven death of puppy
by The Associated Press
ATLANTA - Two teenagers pleaded guilty in Atlanta Friday to aggravated cruelty to animals and other charges in a case in which a puppy was intentionally cooked in an oven, prosecutors said.
Joshua Moulder, 17, and his brother, Justin, 19, pleaded guilty to a ten-count indictment of charges that included two counts of burglary, a count of criminal damage to property in the second degree, and three counts each of terroristic threats and cruelty to children in the second degree, according to a statement from Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard Jr.'s office.
Superior Court Judge Thelma Wyatt Cummings Moore scheduled sentencing for Feb. 9.
The Atlanta brothers' first trial in December ended as a mistrial and a second trial was expected to begin next week.
Police, responding to a report of a break-in on Aug. 21 at the Englewood Manor Apartments community center, found a dead puppy inside an oven in the center's kitchen. Officials found scratch marks inside the oven, indicating the puppy had been alive when placed inside it, the prosecutor's statement said.
A necropsy on the 3-month-old dog found the puppy's paws and snout had been duct taped and it had been doused with paint before being placed in the oven, the statement said.
Authorities found damaged computers, broken glass and scattered paint on the walls of the newly refurbished community center.
The cruelty to children and terroristic threat charges came from reports from neighborhood children that the brothers brought them to the community center to see the dead puppy and then threatened to kill them if they reported it, the statement said.
The case prompted Howard to call for tougher animal cruelty penalties in the state.
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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OMG!!!! HOW SICK CAN PEOPLE (I use that term loosely) BE???!!!?!?!!!?!!
