A former Marine arrested for killing a puppy by squeezing it, throwing it against a wall and kicking it has pleaded guilty and will serve five years probation, court records show.
Jordan Darbyshire, 22, was sentenced in Montgomery County Circuit Court to three years of supervised probation and two years unsupervised for two counts of animal abuse. Two 90-day prison sentences were suspended, except for one day in jail that Darbyshire already served.
When he was arrested in the summer, Darbyshire was a lance corporal stationed at the Marine Corps Barracks on Capitol Hill. A Marine Corps spokeswoman said Darbyshire left the Marines in the fall with a discharge “other than honorable” because of a variety of infractions.
Darbyshire’s lawyer did not return calls seeking comment. Court records show Darbyshire now lives in Ohio and a judge allowed Darbyshire’s probation to be transferred to that state.
Darbyshire was living with his then-wife in a Gaithersburg apartment when he was arrested by local police for killing a 13-week cockapoo named Tippy, court records show. A cockapoo is a mix between a cocker spaniel and a poodle.
Darbyshire told police he “picked up the dog, squeezed her hard, threw her across the room and kicked her” during a “drinking episode,” records show. He told police he had a drinking problem.
A necropsy performed on Tippy showed that the dog had died from a heart attack caused by internal bleeding, court records show. Her liver and lungs were damaged by “blunt force trauma,” and one of the dog’s legs was broken after she died, the report said.
Court records show that Darbyshire’s mother-in-law alerted a local veterinarian of potential animal abuse after another of his dogs suffered a broken leg. Police said there was a “history of death” among Darbyshire’s other family pets, including another dog and ferrets.
