MARION COUNTY - Donald Gene Nix, of Haleyville, has pleaded guilty in a case involving a dog being shot in 2019.
According to a press release from 25th Judicial Circuit District Attorney Scott Slatton, Nix pleaded guilty to one charge of cruelty to animals in violation of Alabama Code Section 13A-11-14 in connection to a 2019 shooting of a neighbor's pet dog. Nix admitted to shooting the dog, tying a rope around its neck and dragging the dog down County Highway 62 near Haleyville while he was driving his pickup. He was arrested for the incident on October 31, 2019.
Nix was sentence to one year in the Marion County Jail with service of the sentence suspended pending successful completion of two years probation.
Nix has requested a hearing to determine the amount of restitution owed to the dog's owner, which will be set by Circuit Court Judge Lee Carter on a future date.
Alabama law makes it a complete defense if the animal harmed was chasing or attacking livestock, Slatton explained. Multiple witnesses provided affidavit testimony that the dog in question had been chasing and possibly killed chickens belonging to the defendant.
The sentence negotiated and agreed to was done after a complete analysis of the law and facts in the case, Slatton added.
See complete story in the Northwest Alabamian.
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