Man gets 5 years for shooting to death Norfolk neighbor's dog

NORFOLK

Michael McLeod told police in 2003 how he planned, aimed and fired the rifle shot that killed his neighbor's dog.

He pleaded guilty to animal cruelty. Then he fled. Seven years later, McLeod was captured in Florida.

On Friday, Circuit Court Judge Karen J. Burrell sentenced McLeod to five years in prison. Burrell said harming an animal is less serious than harming a person, but "it is a living creature."

McLeod, a 40-year-old Army veteran with sniper training, faced a maximum sentence of 11 years for felony charges of animal cruelty, failure to appear and a misdemeanor count of discharging a firearm in a public place.

Burrell gave him a year for failure to appear and four years for animal cruelty. She suspended another six years. "You happened to land in front of a judge who has a compassion for animals," Burrell said.

Daphna Nachminovitch, vice president of animal cruelty investigations for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, said people generally don't receive years in prison for animal cruelty unless they have prior criminal records. But she added that Virginia has strengthened its laws against the crime during the p ast decade.

"When judges hand down sentences like this, they deter people from being cruel to animals," she said. "This person is being held accountable for his actions."

The McLeod family lived across Forrest Avenue from the Hitchings family in a neighborhood near Norfolk Naval Station, according to court records.

McLeod told police the Hitchingses' dog woke him up three times between 4 and 10 a.m. on March 8, 2003, according to a signed statement. He was fed up with the noise, he said, and planned to shoot and "sting" the dog. He trimmed the hedges back from his bedroom window "for a clear shot."

He grabbed a .22-caliber rifle with a scope, loaded one round and returned to his bedroom, according to the statement. McLeod raised the shades and window, took aim across the street and fired. Rex, a 7-year-old black lab, was struck and killed.

Fannie Hitchings and her late husband had raised Rex since he was a puppy. Hitchings said Friday the dog was kept in their fenced yard and barked at foot and vehicle traffic. Rex was never threatening, she said. "He was a really friendly dog - everybody in the neighborhood knew him," she said.

McLeod's father complained once about the dog's barking, and Hitchings said she agreed to keep him inside during the morning.

Michael McLeod said he never spoke to the Hitchingses about Rex.

McLeod pleaded guilty to a felony count of animal cruelty in May 2003, but he didn't show up for sentencing three months later. A judge issued an arrest warrant.

McLeod testified that he went to Florida to care for an ailing grandmother and great-aunt. He said he was terrified of returning to court.

Earlier this year, McLeod said, police stopped him in Florida on suspicion of driving under the influence. He was returned to Virginia in May and has been in Norfolk City Jail, according to testimony Friday.

McLeod said he never intended to kill the dog. "It was a horrible mistake," he said.

But prosecutor Ron Batliner told the judge Friday that McLeod deliberately planned a sniper assassination of his neighbor's pet. "It's a despicable act," he said.

Judge Burrell said McLeod could have handled the neighborhood dispute nonviolently.

Defense attorney Gary C. Byler protested the sentence. "Five years for a first offense?" he asked, adding that assaulting a person would bring less prison time. McLeod cried.

Sandy Asbury, Hitchings' daughter, said she was shocked at the sentence. But she was relieved that her mother could finally put the incident and stress behind her.

"What he did was very cold," she said, "and very calculated."

Louis Hansen, (757) 446-2341, louis.hansen@pilotonline.com