FREDERICK, Md. — A Maryland man who threw a Chihuahua off a bridge has pleaded guilty to animal cruelty and could face prison time.
Thirty-five-year-old David Beers told investigators he got angry after he pulled into the dog owners' driveway to make a cell phone call and was ordered off the property. Beers returned when the dog owners were gone and grabbed Zoey, the Chihuahua.
Beers pleaded guilty Monday to aggravated animal cruelty, a felony, and theft under $500. He faces up to 4 1/2 years in prison and $5,500 in fines at his sentencing June 7.
Police say Beers threw the 4-pound dog off a Catoctin Creek bridge as he drove home. The dog was never found.
Zoey's owner, Caisha (KAH'-shah) Wantz, says losing Zoey was like losing a child.
An April 2008 photo provided by Caisha Wantz shows Zoey, a Chihuahua, at her home near Jefferson, Md. David Beers, of Brunswick, Md., faces up to 4 1/2 years in prison after pleading guilty Monday, March, 29, 2010, to throwing the dog off a bridge into a creek, apparently killing her, because he was angry at her owners. (AP Photo/courtesy of Caisha Wantz)