A 48-year-old Lincoln man pleaded guilty Wednesday to killing his girlfriend's dog and was sentenced to a year in jail.
The woman told officers on May 21 that she left Francisco Rodriguez in charge of her dog, Maggie, while she and her daughter were at the store, according to a probable cause affidavit for his arrest.
When she returned home, the woman told police Maggie was lying dead on her dog bed. Though the dog was 12, she said Maggie had no signs of sickness and she was lying on her bed in a strange position, as if someone placed her there, documents say.
The woman also told police Maggie was wet for no reason.
A necropsy was performed on the dog and investigators discovered Maggie died from severe internal bleeding as a result of external trauma, documents say.
Judge Jodi Nelson gave Rodriguez the maximum sentence for the charge of cruelly mistreating an animal. He will get credit for 139 days of time already served.