Bay City News Service
A local man who was convicted last week of beating his teenage neighbor's poodle to death could face up to three years in county jail for the crime, the district attorney said Monday.
After deliberating for just two hours, a jury on Friday found 32-year-old Marcos Montano-Topete of unincorported Redwood City guilty of one count of animal cruelty and one count of malicious killing of an animal, San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said.
Montano-Topete was immediately remanded into custody and is being held without bail until his sentencing on March 15.
Prosecutors argued that, on March 26, 2012, Montano-Topete approached his 16-year-old neighbor and told her he was sick of her dog - a 12-pound poodle named "Globsis" - coming onto his property. He told the girl she could find her dog's body in his yard.
The dog was found lying in a pool of blood in front of Montano-Topete's home, and a brick was found just a few feet away, prosecutors said. The dog was alive but convulsing, with severe injuries to its head and snout.
He allegedly told the girl and arriving sheriff's deputies that he had hit Globsis in the head with a brick, Wagstaffe said.
The Peninsula Humane Society responded and took the dog to a nearby pet hospital, but due to the severity of its injuries, staff said it had to be euthanized.
During a four-day trial that began on Feb. 4, Montano-Topete testified that he struck Globsis while defending his pet Chihuahua, Wagstaffe said.
Wagstaffe said he was pleased with the jury's quick conviction. He also remarked that Judge Stephen Hall's order to immediately jail Montano-Topete without bail was an unusual move for an animal cruelty case.
"We usually only see that in major types of crimes," Wagstaffe said.
Defense attorney Tom Deremigio did not immediately return a call for comment.
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