Fireman Kills Dogs & "Flips Off" Reporters

A Columbus (Ohio) firefighter, David P. Santuomo, 43, pled guilty to two counts of animal cruelty and one count of possession of a criminal tool for taking his two dogs to his basement, laying down a plastic sheet, tying the dogs up and partially suspending them from a pipe and killing them with a rifle and makeshift silencer so he and a girlfriend could vacation without paying to board the animals. The dogs were shot at least 11 times, with one of the dogs shot six times in the head.

Santuomo adopted the two mixed-breed dogs, named "Sloopy" and "Skeeter", from the local humane society in January 2007.

"[Santuomo] said chunks of concrete were flying everywhere," Assistant Franklin County Prosecutor Heather Robinson said. "I think it was the thrill of the kill for him. He has shown no remorse for this." The humane society would have taken the animals if Santuomo had asked, and two neighbors had offered to watch the dogs in his absence, Robinson said.

After the killing, Santuomo bragged about it to his fellow firefighters and dumped the animals' bodies in a dumpster behind the fire station.

Santuomo was sentenced to 90 days in jail, $4,500 costs, $150 fines, 5 years probation, 200 hours community service, to not possess animals for five years and to undergo random home inspections during probation. The court will allow Santuomo to serve his 90 days of jailtime in 10 day stints over the next two years. In addition, Santuomo has to file a formal apology with a national firefighters magazine and write a letter to his local newspaper.

Santuomo remains on active duty as a firefighter while awaiting a disciplinary hearing.

Despite his defense attorney's claim after sentencing that Santuomo is "extremely remorseful", in the courtroom Santuomo raised a middle finger to the reporters assembled to cover his case.

Source: dispatch.com, pet-abuse.com