Crime & Safety
Manassas Dog-Beater's Jail Sentence May be Overturned by Higher Court
The case was appealed to the higher circuit court which will hear the case on Thursday.
A Manassas man found guilty in September of abducting and beating a former girlfriend's two dogs is appealing his convictions and will stand trial before a circuit court judge on Thursday.
Khanh Hong was found guilty of two misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty in connection with the April abduction of the two West Highland Terriers — Ozzy and Piper—and the December beating of one of the dogs witnessed by a passerby. Ozzy was significantly injured during the abduction while Piper died of suffocation after being bound and placed in a plastic bag during the attack, according to testimony heard during Hong's trial in September.
Hong's attorney J. Andrew Taylor of Manassas said in September he would appeal his client's convictions to the higher circuit court which will hear the case on Thursday.
Hong was sentenced to 12 months in prison and 24 months probation in connection with the April 17 abduction of Ozzy. He was also sentenced to 12 months, with nine months suspended, for the December incident when a neighbor saw Hong kicking and punching one of the dogs at a Manassas-area home on Copeland Drive.
A grand jury indicted Hong on Oct. 7 on charges of statutory burglary and two counts of larceny of animal. He also faces one felony animal cruelty charge in connection with the April death of Piper, who police said was ducted taped and placed in a trash bag before being thrown out of suspect's car.
He will stand trial on those charges on May 24, 2014.
Hong is accused of entering the basement of the Copeland Drive home in April where Ozzy and Piper lived with their owner—Hong's neighbor and one-time romantic interest—abducting the dogs and putting them in the trunk of his car.
After discarding Piper's body, Hong then allegedly drove to a dirt road in the Haymarket area where he chased Ozzy off after the dog made it out of the bag he was placed inside.
Betty Blankenship testified in September that she saw Hong drive by in his car, and soon after caught sight of the injured dog in the road. Blankenship took the dog to a local animal hospital where he was treated for his injuries. Ethan H. Morris, a Manassas surgical veterinarian who treated Ozzy after his abduction, said the dog's leg was injured by some sort of blunt force trauma caused by being struck or kicked.
Read more on Ozzy's treatment and recovery.
Hong was sentenced to 12 months in prison and 24 months probation in connection with the April 17 abduction of Ozzy. He was also sentenced to 12 months, with nine months suspended, for the December incident when a neighbor saw Hong kicking and punching one of the dogs at a Manassas-area home on Copeland Drive.
A grand jury indicted Hong on Oct. 7 on charges of statutory burglary and two counts of larceny of animal. He also faces one felony animal cruelty charge in connection with the April death of Piper, who police said was ducted taped and placed in a trash bag before being thrown out of suspect's car.
He will stand trial on those charges on May 24, 2014.
Hong is accused of entering the basement of the Copeland Drive home in April where Ozzy and Piper lived with their owner—Hong's neighbor and one-time romantic interest—abducting the dogs and putting them in the trunk of his car.
After discarding Piper's body, Hong then allegedly drove to a dirt road in the Haymarket area where he chased Ozzy off after the dog made it out of the bag he was placed inside.
Betty Blankenship testified in September that she saw Hong drive by in his car, and soon after caught sight of the injured dog in the road. Blankenship took the dog to a local animal hospital where he was treated for his injuries. Ethan H. Morris, a Manassas surgical veterinarian who treated Ozzy after his abduction, said the dog's leg was injured by some sort of blunt force trauma caused by being struck or kicked.
Read more on Ozzy's treatment and recovery.
- Donations Pour in for Injured Manassas Dog Tied With Duct Tape
- Dog Found With Legs, Arms Duct Taped Recovers, Becomes Service Dog
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