A former Iowa representative admitted to causing the death of his K-9 partner who was left in a hot police truck for 22 hours on a scorching summer day.
Dallas Wingate, formerly a sergeant with the Boone County Sheriff’s Department, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor animal neglect resulting in serious injury or death, the Des Moines Register first reported Monday.
As part of the plea deal, prosecutors dropped a felony charge of torturing/injuring/killing/threatening a police dog against Wingate.
On the night of September 2, 2022, Wingate discovered the police dog in his care, Officer K-9 Bear, dead inside his truck.
The officer told investigators he had placed the dog in the vehicle around 10 p.m. the night before because Bear was barking at a deer, according to documents related to a search warrant.
Wingate, who had been with the department’s K-9 unit for 15 years, said he only remembered confining Bear in the truck after he went out to feed his other dogs around 8 p.m. the next night and didn’t see the dog between them.
Dallas Wingate, a former sergeant with the Boone County Sheriff’s Department in Iowa, pictured with his former K-9 partner, pleaded guilty to the 2022 death of K-9 Officer Bear in a hot car. Dallas Wingate / Facebook Bear died in September 2022, after being left in his owner’s truck for 22 hours without food, water or ventilation. Boone County Sheriff’s Office
The criminal complaint says Wingate failed to provide Bear with food, water or ventilation for 22 hours while the dog was stranded in the truck.
During that time, the sergeant had used the vehicle, with Bear still inside, to go to a sheriff’s meeting and return home in the afternoon, but was unable to remove the dog.
The temperature outside that day reached 89 degrees, meaning the temperature inside the truck would have exceeded 100 degrees.
Wingate, who resigned from the force just days after the incident, initially faced a felony charge. Boone County Sheriff’s Office A box containing Bear’s remains and a monument with his footprint are seen at the sheriff’s department. KCCI
Wingate was placed on administrative leave after Bear’s death and resigned a few days later.
Boone County Sheriff Andy Godzicki welcomed the plea deal and told station KCCI it will provide closure for members of his department.
“I’m grateful that this had a result and that there was justice for the death of that canine,” Godzicki said.
The charge against Wingate carries a maximum sentence of two years in prison and a fine of more than $8,500, but the plea agreement recommends 18 months of probation and an $855 fine.
Categories: Trending
Source: vtt.edu.vn