A 30-year-old Anthony, NM man pleaded guilt to extreme cruelty to animals after he shot his neighbor’s dog several times with a rifle last summer.
Gustavo Filerio, is facing a mandatory year in prison on a firearms charge and an additional 18-months on the animal cruelty charge after pleading guilty in a Las Cruces courtroom Monday.
According to court documents, Filerio fired at least eighteen rounds from a .22 caliber rifle into his neighbor’s yard where a 2-year-old blue heeler named Bebebeto was tied up. The dog was hit at least three times including in the face, ear and leg.
Bebebeto’s family includes a seven year old girl who often plays with him in the yard. Thankfully, Bebebeto survived the shooting and has since recovered.
The case was initially scheduled to go to a jury trial, but Filerio pleaded guilty just hours before to extreme cruelty to animals, and using a firearm in commission of a crime.
“That this defendant chose to plead guilty to the felony charge he was facing is a testament to the strength of the investigation by the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Department and the evidence against him,” D’Antonio said. “My office takes cruelty to animals cases very seriously, and I’d like to make that very clear. Cruelty to animals will not be tolerated in Doña Ana County.”
Doña Ana County District Judge Douglas R. Driggers ordered Filerio be taken into custody immediately to undergo a diagnostic evaluation prior to his sentencing.
(Story from ElPasoProud.com)