MORGANTOWN — A Virginia man who beat a dog after it used the bathroom in the house pleaded guilty to the crime Monday.
Judge Russell Clawges accepted the plea of Nathan Edward Steve, 24, of Stephens City, in Monongalia County Circuit Court. He pleaded guilty to one count of cruelty to animals.
Steve faces one to five years in prison and a fine of $1,000-$5,000 and cannot own animals or live with animals for 15 years.
If the case had gone to trial, the state would have proven that on July 31 Morgantown Police responded 63 Jones Ave. after a neighbor called 911 and said a dog was yelping in pain, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Gabrielle Mucciola said.
The responding officer’s bodycam was on and captured Steve swinging the dog around in the air, both paws in one hand and the dog’s jaw in the other hand, Mucciola said.
She said Steve was “drenched in sweat” and he told the officer the dog went to the bathroom in the house.
The dog had a limp on its front left leg and blood on its paws, Mucciola said.
Steve will be sentenced at a later date.
