A Bridgeport man convicted of trying to throw a dog off a Derby bridge last year received a suspended jail sentence and probation in the case Wednesday (June 26).
Alexander Rosario had pleaded guilty under the Alford doctrine to a single count of maliciously wounding an animal in March.
Under Alford, a defendant does not admit all the facts in the case but concedes there is enough evidence for conviction at trial.
Rosario’s public defender has said Rosario suffers from mental health problems and has “no recollection” of an incident last July that led to his arrest.
At Superior Court in Derby Wednesday, Judge Charles Lee sentenced Rosario to an 18-month suspended prison sentence and two years of probation, a court clerk said Friday.
As a condition of probation, Judge Lee ordered that Rosario not possess any animals.
Rosario was arrested last July on a single misdemeanor charge of cruelty to an animal after police said he tried to throw a Jack Russell terrier off the Hawkins Street bridge.
Police said the dog’s collar caught on a spike on the bridge, preventing the animal from falling onto Route 8 below.
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Since Rosario’s arrest the charge was upped from misdemeanor animal cruelty to maliciously wounding an animal, an unclassified felony punishable by up to five years behind bars and a $5,000 fine.
Woodbridge Animal Control, which covers Derby’s animal-related calls, took the dog to a vet, who gave it a clean bill of health.
The pooch has since been adopted and has a new home at an undisclosed location.
Rosario had applied for a diversionary program in January that could have resulted in the charges against him being dismissed altogether, but was ruled ineligible, according to court records.
