Stanton Man Pleads Guilty To Killing Dog, Setting Fires In His Home
SANTA ANA (CBS) — A 31-year-old Stanton man pleaded guilty Thursday to slitting his dog's throat and setting fires in his home.
Jaime Arturo Garcia accepted a plea bargain offer from Orange County Superior Court Judge Robert Fitzgerald, who is expected to sentence Garcia to four years and eight months in prison, Deputy District Attorney Andrew Katz said. Sentencing was scheduled for May 8 so Garcia's sisters and parents could make victim impact statements, Katz said.
Katz said he would only agree to a nine-year prison sentence for Garcia. The maximum is nine years and eight months in prison.
"I'm just offended because he killed a dog," Katz said. "A dog is very helpless and harmless."
Garcia, who lived with his sister, was home alone when he closed all of the doors and windows of their Stanton residence on July 24, then fired up several piles of clothing, Katz said. The blazes damaged cabinets in the laundry room, but did not spread.
When the fires burned themselves out, Garcia fed various pills to Dexter, his 7-year-old dachshund.
The pills just made the dog tired, Katz said.
Garcia then slit the dog's throat with a large kitchen knife, Katz said.
The dog ran around the home, leaving a trail of blood, before going into Garcia's bedroom, where he died, Katz said.
When Garcia's sister got home, she saw the house filled with smoke and the dog's blood and called firefighters, Katz said.
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