'She's not the same, and neither are we.' Silver Lake man sentenced for shooting dog
John C. Stover needs to serve time for firing the shotgun blast that blinded his neighbors' dog, but he also needs to be available to care for his elderly parents, Shawnee County District Court Judge Rachel Pickering said Wednesday.
She consequently sentenced Stover to one year in the Shawnee County Jail before suspending that sentence and ordering him to serve three days in that jail, then spend the rest of the one-year period on supervised probation.
Pickering also sentenced Stover, 61, of Silver Lake, to pay restitution totaling $8,623.52 to cover medical bills, the loss of income the dog's owners incurred because of Stover's crime and the value of the dog, who is named Lucy.
More:Old case complicates Kansas judge's confirmation hearing. Here's why GOP pressed issue.
D.A.: Stover 'not really' accepting responsibility for crime
Shawnee County District Attorney Mike Kagay said Stover fired a shotgun blast on Aug. 6, 2020, that blinded Lucy, a red Irish setter who had come onto Stover's property at 5329 N.W. Hunter Road.
Kagay said Lucy hid under a shed before being struck by several pellets from a shotgun fired by Stover.
Lucy, a hunting dog, was 18 months old when she was shot. She is now 4 years old, remains blind and lives with her owners, Dian and Mark Workman.
The Workmans had asked to be awarded compensation to cover the value of training Lucy received from Mark Workman, but Pickering didn't make Stover pay for that.
Kagay's office in 2020 charged Stover with felony cruelty to animals, alleging he wounded the dog knowingly, unlawfully and maliciously.
Stover pleaded guilty Sept. 22 to a Class A misdemeanor count of cruelty to animals while saying he wounded the dog knowingly and unlawfully, but not maliciously.
'She's not the same, and neither are we'
Kagay asked Pickering on Wednesday to sentence Stover to the maximum allowable jail term of one year. He suggested Stover was "not really" accepting responsibility for his crime.
Stover asked Wednesday that he not be sentenced to jail, saying he was needed to run his farm and care for his father, who is 95, and his mother, who is almost 92.
Before passing sentence, Pickering also heard from Dian Workman.
"We lost a beautiful member of our family that day," she said. "She's not the same, and neither are we."
Contact Tim Hrenchir at tim.hrenchir@gannett.com and 785-213-5934.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Silver Lake man receives jail sentence on cruelty to animals conviction
