Navy veteran, 37, who GOUGED out his neighbor’s dog’s eye in an inhumane attack and killed a second beloved pet is jailed for more than nine years
- David C. Herbert, 37, a former Navy corpsman was sentenced for animal abuse
- The veteran gouged out a neighbor’s dog’s eye and tried to poison it with acid
- When one family fled in terror, a second family moved in and their pet was killed
- Herbert was found with blood in his car and on his baseball bat but denied claims
- He was jailed for nine years in a case that shocked veteran judge Carlos Armour
A Navy veteran who gouged his neighbor’s dog’s eye out and allegedly killed a second with a baseball bat has been sentenced to more than nine years in jail.
David C. Herbert, 37, a former Navy corpsman was sentenced Friday for physically abusing his neighbors dogs using inhumane methods including acid and poison.
Herbert was convicted last August on six counts of animal cruelty, one count of burglary and four misdemeanor counts of vandalism for harming two separate families’ dogs, one of which remains missing.
Evil crime: A Navy veteran who gouged his neighbor’s dog’s eye out and allegedly killed a second with a baseball bat has been sentenced to more than nine years in jail. David C. Herbert, 37, a former Navy corpsman was sentenced Friday for physically abusing his neighbors dogs using inhumane methods including acid and poison
Helpless husky: In April of 2017 Maria Morales and her four-year-old son came home to find their home vandalized and Estrella, their Siberian husky, with an eye gouged out
Authorities say Herbert targeted next-door neighbors in Oceanside in 2017, slashing their tires and poisoning or burning their dogs with chemicals.
In April of 2017 Maria Morales and her four-year-old son came home to find their home vandalized and Estrella, their Siberian husky, with an eye gouged out.
This forced them to flee in fear of their safety.
A new family moved in a month later, and within two days their Golden retriever, Lala, had disappeared and is presumed dead.
Police say they found blood in Herbert’s car and on a baseball bat belonging to him.
Herbert denies murder and says the dog jumped into his car and then ran off as he was driving to a shelter.
Michelle Plaketta, the owner of the dog, said in court that her daughter ‘doesn’t have a best friend anymore,’ the San Diego Tribune reports.
Murdered canine: A new family moved in a month later, and within two days their Golden retriever, Lala, had disappeared and is presumed dead. Police say they found blood in Herbert’s car and on a baseball bat belonging to him
Devastated owner: Michelle Plaketta, the owner of the dog, said in court that her daughter ‘doesn’t have a best friend anymore’
‘How do you explain to a 4-year-old that a human being gets to be so cruel?’ Morales reportedly said in the courtroom.
Police said Herbert’s computer showed searches for ‘How to get a dog to drink antifreeze.’
In his defense, Herbert’s lawyer said his client has ‘major depressive disorder,’ according to court records.
He was jailed for more than nine years and fined $10,000.