Former Fire Chief Sentenced To Jail For Beating Puppy

A retired Los Angeles County assistant fire chief who beat a neighbor’s 6-month-old puppy so badly that the animal had to be euthanized was sentenced today to 90 days weekend jail time and three years probation.

Glynn Demon Johnson, 55, could have received a maximum of four years in state prison for his conviction on felony animal cruelty, with a sentence-enhancing allegation of using a deadly weapon in the commission of a felony.

Superior Court Judge J. Thompson Hanks apparently opted for leniency because the defendant has no prior criminal history.

A Riverside jury spent barely three hours deliberating before finding Johnson guilty on Jan. 26.

“This was an extreme case of animal cruelty,” Deputy District Attorney Will Robinson said after the verdict was announced. “It was not an act of self-defense, but a brutal and vicious attack on a puppy that didn’t stand a chance against the defendant.”

The defense argued Johnson was defending himself against an out-of-control canine.

Karley, a German shepherd mix adopted by Johnson’s former neighbors, Jeff and Shelley Toole, had gotten out of her owners’ yard and darted across the defendant’s Woodcrest property on Nov. 3, 2008.

Johnson testified that it was common for the Tooles’ animals to wander loose, and he decided to retrieve Karley and return the dog to her pen.

The defendant testified that he took the dog from his neighbor, Travis Skaggs, to save the man from having to walk around to the Tooles’ residence in the 1700 block of Armintrout Drive.

According to the former firefighter, he was walking the dog by the collar when she suddenly stiffened, whipped around and bit him on the wrist, forcing him to the ground.

He testified that Karley clamped down on his right thumb, “filleting” it so the top and bottom portions separated. He said he picked up a rock and struck the dog until she went limp.

Skaggs testified that the animal showed no signs of aggression, and that Johnson yanked her up by the collar and started pummeling her for no reason. He said Johnson at one point grabbed the top and bottom portions of the dog’s mouth and pulled, as if trying to snap Karley’s jaws.

The witness said he tried to intervene, but Johnson ignored him, slamming a rock into the dog’s head 10 to 15 times.

The canine’s injuries, which included multiple skull fractures, a broken jaw and smashed teeth, were so extensive that a veterinarian recommended putting her down, which the Tooles agreed to do.