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Newport Beach man who killed roommate’s dog receives 9-month sentence

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A Newport Beach man was sentenced Thursday to nine months in Orange County jail after he pleaded guilty to killing his roommate’s dog.

Justin James Pope, 27, pleaded guilty to felony animal cruelty and petty theft and misdemeanor counts of destroying or concealing evidence and making a false report to an officer, according to Orange County Superior Court records.

Pope was also sentenced to five years of formal probation, court records show.

Prosecutors alleged Pope killed his roommate’s dog in their Newport Beach home at about 4:30 p.m. Aug. 30, 2017 and then called to let her know. The pair had been roommates for about a month.

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The woman called police, who found blood, urine and feces in “suspicious locations,” according to prosecutors.

After officers left, Pope staged a burglary, removed evidence and disposed of his roommate’s television. At 10:22 that night, the woman called police to report a residential burglary after she noticed that her television, along with Pope’s television and Xbox, were missing.

Officers found Pope’s television and Xbox in the trunk of his car and arrested him, prosecutors said.

Pope was released from jail on $20,000 bail in September 2017, according to jail records.

hannah.fry@latimes.com

Twitter: @HannahFryTCN

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