Postman Convicted in Shooting of Dog

A Pacoima postman was convicted Wednesday of cruelty to animals for fatally shooting a dog as he delivered mail on his Arleta route the day after Christmas.

Skippy, a German shepherd mixed-breed, died when a bullet fired by postman Floyd Bertran Sterling’s revolver tore into the dog’s left side, provoking an outcry from his owners and protestations from Sterling that he fired the gun in self defense.

In the end, the U.S. Postal Service picked up the tab for an elaborate $685 burial at a Calabasas pet cemetery.

Sterling, 34, pleaded no contest to the felony charge in San Fernando Municipal Court after the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office agreed to drop felony charges of carrying a concealed weapon and using a firearm in a grossly negligent manner, Deputy Dist. Atty. David R. Lopez said.

Sterling had pleaded not guilty in January to all three charges. He could have been sentenced to three years in state prison if convicted of all counts, Lopez said. He now faces a maximum sentence of one year in County Jail, 36 months probation and a $20,000 fine, Lopez said.

Sentencing was scheduled for March 29.

“Our office felt the crux of the matter was felony cruelty to animals,” Lopez said. Of the case, he said, “It’s a good disposition.”

Sterling was arrested Dec. 26 after he shot Skippy--just as the dog’s owner, Tammie Brody, emerged from her house to give him a bottle of vodka for Christmas. Brody said Sterling “freaked out” and fired a .22-caliber revolver at the dog, which she said was not menacing him.

But Sterling’s attorney, Salvatore P. Ciulla, said the dog did attack him. Sterling told police after his arrest that the dog had bitten him on prior occasions.

Brody, in an interview, expressed satisfaction with the plea arrangement.

“I’m just very pleased with the Postal Service and the Foothill Division of the Los Angeles Police Department for the support I’ve gotten, and I think it’s because of that that he was convicted,” she said. “I just wanted justice done, not blood.”

Prosecutors said felony charges were brought against Sterling because he was on probation for carrying a loaded firearm in a public place and because he had been convicted of misdemeanor spousal abuse in 1982.