Teen shoots dog, gets 23 years in prison
An 18-year-old boy has been sentenced to 23 years in prison for shooting a retired police dog during a burglary in 2012.
At 16, Ivins Rosier confessed to breaking into Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Robert Boody’s West Palm Beach home and shooting the 5-year-old German Shepherd.
Rosier’s attorney argued that a detective “hustled” the boy during interrogation by equating the dog’s death to the “murder of a law enforcement officer” (which wasn’t legally true).
Rosier’s attorney also wanted his client sentenced as a juvenile with a maximum sentence of 6 years, CBS 12 reports.
“I believe this to be sadistic to do this to a child,” said Rosier’s attorney, who plans to appeal. He conceded that Rosier’s crimes were serious, “but when you look at the range of punishments available, that’s why they call it juvenile.”
Rosier’s sentence was a result of convictions on three felony counts: cruelty to animals with a firearm, burglary of a dwelling with a firearm and shooting into a building.
He refused to accept a plea agreement that required him to serve 20 years in prison.
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