PHOENIX— Today Decarlos Jones (D.O.B. 08/07/1988) was sentenced to a 90 day jail sentence followed by three years of supervised probation with domestic violence and animal cruelty terms for the torture and decapitation of his and his girlfriend’s dog. Jones pled guilty to a Class 6 designated felony animal cruelty charge on November 30, 2017.
“This conviction represents the most serious felony designation that can be imposed, yet it falls far short of acknowledging the intentional conduct committed by the defendant,” said Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery. “I look forward to changes in our criminal laws that will allow us to meet community expectations in punishing this vicious type of behavior.”
On September 19, 2017 officers were made aware of an incident that happened at the home shared by Jones and his girlfriend. The girlfriend told officers she came home to find that Jones had killed their six-month-old puppy in the bathtub and then placed its head on a table.
When interviewed by investigators, Jones admitted he had become angry after the puppy had urinated on the floor in the home. He admitted he placed the dog in the tub and then hit the dog repeatedly against the tub before stabbing the puppy to death. Jones said he then decapitated the puppy and left the animal’s head on a table for his girlfriend to see.