Two Men Found Guilty Of Killing War Hero’s Therapy Dog
Posted on Dec 04, 2011 @ 05:23AM
Marcus Luttrell was left devastated when he was awoken by the sound of a gun shot in the early hours of April 1, 2009 to find that his beloved service dog DASY, a Labrador retriever, had been killed.
Alfonso Hernandez, 24, was found guilty of a felony on Thursday in Walker County, Texas by a jury of four men and eight women. Two days earlier, his accomplice Michael Edmonds, 21, pleaded guilty to the same charge and admitted that he was the one to fire the fatal shot.
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Luttrell testified during the trial that he heard a single gunshot around 2 am on the fateful night, grabbed his pistol, went to check on his mother who lived next door and then got to the roadway to find DASY shot dead.
“I saw my dog in a ditch and two men standing outside the car,” Luttrell said. “I could hear them laughing.”
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Luttrell gave chase to the men, who attempted to escape in a car going up to 100 mph through several counties. A patrol officer finally pulled them over.
Prosecutors believe the two men may have killed several area dogs for kicks, but until the Luttrell incident, they'd never had the evidence to prosecute them. They also revealed Hernandez also kicked and beat the dog as it lay dying.
Sentencing is scheduled for February, with both of the men facing up to two years in jail and a fine of $10,000.
DASY had been given to Luttrell as a puppy in 2007 to help him through his recovery stemming from his tour of duty in Afghanistan where several of his pals had been killed.
The Navy Seal was the only survivor of 2005 Operation Redwing, which left 19 American troops dead. DASY’s name is an acronym of the initials of the veteran’s fallen comrades.
He was awarded the Navy Cross and a Purple Heart, and wrote a book about his experience called Lone Survivor.
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The Daily Juice
This story made my stomach turn...how sickening and sad. May they get the maximum punishment allowable!
Posted Mon, 12/05/2011 - 5:30am
this two loser live in America whether they are legal or not who cares they are taking advantage of the freedom that this soldier provides and have nothing to do but committing crimes
Posted Sun, 12/04/2011 - 11:37pm
I hope they get the maximum sentence they deserve. Mr. Luttrell Thank You for your service as a Navy Seal! Horrible to have something so precious and loved taken from you in such a horrific way.
Posted Sun, 12/04/2011 - 6:58pm
Sad that happened. I hope Marcus found another dog, couldn't replace the one he had but another dog to keep him company there are so many out there.
Posted Sun, 12/04/2011 - 1:59pm
this crime happened 2 years ago??? and only now these loosers are being sentenced? wonder what they have been up to since they killled that poor innocent service dog? lunkheads ...
Posted Sun, 12/04/2011 - 10:43am
2 bullets would be cheaper than jail time. What a waste.
Posted Sun, 12/04/2011 - 9:43am
some people are just a waste of skin to do such harm to something so gentle and good and defensless
Posted Sun, 12/04/2011 - 7:01am
If I were him and saw what they were doing I'd have immediately opened fire of them without hesitation and claimed self defense since they had a gun. Killing a couple of Mexicans that could do that to an animal is no big loss to the world.
Posted Sun, 12/04/2011 - 4:02am
~Truly an egregiously shocking heart-breaking crime by illegal-aliens?; --yet the event of this Hero having taken chase after the criminals makes this a story that would be a Box-office winning cinema for TomCruise as the lead hero..!!!
Posted Sun, 12/04/2011 - 3:19am
Get your facts before your make a racist comment, they are young white men who did this, probably red necks like you oh my-bad, I'm profiling like you did.
Posted Sun, 12/04/2011 - 12:02pm