Stories1 min(s) read
Published 16:23 30 Oct 2020 GMT
A teenager found guilty of fatally shooting a police dog has been sentenced to 25 years in prison this week.
According to a recent report by First Coast News, 19-year-old Jhamel Malik Paskel, who was 17 when he committed the offenses, was sentenced on Wednesday to five years in prison for killing a police dog, and sentenced to a further 20 years behind bars for additional charges, including armed carjacking and kidnapping.
Take a look at this news report on the teen's guilty plea in the video below:
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Per Fox 13 News, the teenager hijacked a car making a pitstop at a gas station. Holding the driver at gunpoint, Paskel ordered the female driver out of her vehicle and made off with it.
He was chased down Interstate 10 by K-9 Officer Matt Herrera, along with the dog, who was shot just before Paskel was apprehended.
According to another report from Fox 13 News, the dog in question was a member of the Jacksonville Sheriff'ss Office's K-9 squad named Fang. Fang was a three-year-old German shepherd who performed both patrol and bomb-detection duties and also patrolled special events and football games.
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Commenting on the incident, Officer Herrera stated in Paskel's trial of the K-9:
"He’s still a member of my family and it wasn’t just sad for me.
It was my wife, kids and parents.
"To go back and see that empty kennel in the backyard and know that there is no dog there, and to see the bloodstains in the truck that I had to clean up after he was killed."
Per Fox 13 News, Paskel, whose mother told the court he suffers from drug problems and learning difficulties, pled for leniency from the judge, and apologies to those affected by his crimes.
Paskel stated:
"I would like to offer my apologies and condolences to Officer Herrera for not only the killing of his K-9 partner Fang, but his best friend. I want to apologize to the victims for scaring them that night. And I owe my mother the biggest apology for letting her down.”
Paskel is also legally required to serve 10 years of probation following his incarceration.
