News for North Texas
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Final Justice Delayed For 'Justice' The Puppy

DFW RescueMe Facebook

The final defendant in the case of Justice, the four month old pup set on fire last year entered a guilty plea in court Tuesday morning.

19 year old Darius Ewing was to get five years in prison under a plea bargain agreed to by prosecutors and defense attorneys.

But that didn’t happen.  Animal welfare activist Jonnie England says Judge Larry Mitchell decided otherwise.

“He thought that the state had not proven that a deadly weapon was used and was not accepting that sentence," England said after the court proceeding. "And that he would set a sentence later on, at a later date.  And that the maximum would be two years.  So, we were quite stunned by that.”

Witnesses told police that Ewing doused the puppy with lighter fluid – the deadly weapon --while another defendant flicked a cigarette on the dog.   Justice died a few days later.

The three other defendants pleaded guilty earlier and got 15 months to two years in jail.

Prosecutors may appeal the judge’s action. 

Former KERA reporter BJ Austin spent more than 25 years in broadcast journalism, anchoring and reporting in Atlanta, New York, New Orleans and Dallas. Along the way, she covered Atlanta City Hall, the Georgia Legislature and the corruption trials of Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards.