Man Gets 12 Years for Tossing Dog 23 Stories, Other Charges

A man who threw his girlfriend’s dog off her 23rd-floor balcony was sentenced Thursday to 12 years in prison for animal cruelty and other charges related to stalking the woman.

John Jefferson, 43, pleaded guilty Dec. 5 to robbery, burglary, stalking, criminal contempt and animal cruelty. The judge said two of the 12 years were for killing the dog, Ribsy.

“I’ve had pets all my life,” Judge James Yates said. “I was just as sickened as anyone else when I read the stories.”

The judge also ordered five years of parole supervision for Jefferson and signed an order of protection that directs him to stay away from ex-girlfriend Eugenia Miller for the next 17 years.

Jefferson tossed the 16-year-old black-and-white terrier-poodle mix to its death May 26 during an argument with Miller. Ribsy landed in the concrete plaza below and died instantly. Jefferson barricaded himself inside the apartment and threatened Miller with a knife, police said.

“I am sorry,” Jefferson said in court Thursday. “I was totally messed up, emotionally disturbed. I just lost it.”

Jefferson pleaded guilty to burglary in connection with his forcible entry into the apartment, and his plea to the robbery charge was for a May 22 holdup at knifepoint. The stalking charge arose from his harassment of Miller earlier.