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A man who slit a dog's throat to enact revenge on his former girlfriend's mother was sentenced to 3 years in prison yesterday, the maximum sentence for the crime.
Robert Lee Grim, 26, remained silent while Circuit Judge Joseph P. Manck issued the sentence, which also includes 5 years of probation during which Grim will receive treatment for his drug addiction. Grim also received credit for 213 days he spent in jail waiting for trial.
Judge Manck said he was concerned about Grim's criminal history, which included assaults in his youth and drug possession as an adult. Grim told the judge that his parents are alcoholics and he used drugs with his mother.
"What worries me is that you've now progressed to cut a dog's throat and leave the dog at the house where your ex-girlfriend's mother lives,"
Judge Manck said. "Clearly, the juvenile system failed you. If we don't do something now, there's no telling where you'll end up."
Grim pleaded guilty in April to the charges for which he was sentenced yesterday. His attorney, David Harding, declined to comment.
The dog, a Labrador mix whose name is Casper, survived the attack, and the incident prompted an outpouring of more than $1,500 in donations for his medical expenses.
Marjorie Cooke, the victim, read aloud from a three-page statement. She said there was something "ominous" about Grim and she felt that her daughter wasn't safe with him.
"Mr. Grim's revenge was a mafia-style intimidation," Ms. Cooke said. "Mr. Grim is a dangerous man, and I base this on what my daughter knows about him and the action he inflicted upon that poor little dog."
Grim last saw his former girlfriend, Sue Cantu, on New Year's Eve 2004. They had been dating for a few months and Ms. Cantu, then 20, told him that her mother didn't want them to see each other anymore, said Assistant State's Attorney Kimberly DiPetro. Grim became angry and started calling Ms. Cooke names and Ms. Cantu ended the relationship.
On Jan. 3, 2005, Grim and a friend, George M. Treas, found Casper sleeping on the porch of a home in Baltimore, which is where Grim was living at the time. They put the dog into a work van and drove it to a school not far from Ms. Cooke's home in Millersville. Grim slashed Casper's throat, drove him to Ms. Cooke's home and left the bleeding dog on her front steps.
Residents saw a trail of blood starting in the parking lot of the Rockbridge Academy, about a mile away. A bloody belt was found in the grass nearby. Police said it appeared that Grim used the belt to hold Casper up on his hind legs to cut his throat.
Ms. Cooke had left her home at 5:15 a.m. to drive Ms. Cantu to the airport. When she returned shortly before 7 a.m., she saw a bloody rag and a pool of blood on her front step. The tires to her other car were slashed. Casper stumbled to a house a few doors down before collapsing. A neighbor found him and called 911. Casper was treated at Bay County Veterinary Hospital.
Casper's owner had previously given the dog to a nephew who let it walk around a neighborhood in Brooklyn, near the Anne Arundel County line. Casper has since recovered, but is still skittish around strangers, Ms. DiPetro said.
Ms. DiPetro dropped charges against Mr. Treas because he gave a full account of the attack and would have testified for the state if Grim had gone to trial. Mr. Treas also said he and Grim used heroin while driving around with the dog in the van.
Ms. Cooke and Ms. Cantu "are glad to put it behind them and are also relieved to know that he can't harm them anymore," Ms. DiPetro said. "They are very close to each other."
3 years isn't good enough!
Robert Lee Grim, 26, remained silent while Circuit Judge Joseph P. Manck issued the sentence, which also includes 5 years of probation during which Grim will receive treatment for his drug addiction. Grim also received credit for 213 days he spent in jail waiting for trial.
Judge Manck said he was concerned about Grim's criminal history, which included assaults in his youth and drug possession as an adult. Grim told the judge that his parents are alcoholics and he used drugs with his mother.
"What worries me is that you've now progressed to cut a dog's throat and leave the dog at the house where your ex-girlfriend's mother lives,"
Judge Manck said. "Clearly, the juvenile system failed you. If we don't do something now, there's no telling where you'll end up."
Grim pleaded guilty in April to the charges for which he was sentenced yesterday. His attorney, David Harding, declined to comment.
The dog, a Labrador mix whose name is Casper, survived the attack, and the incident prompted an outpouring of more than $1,500 in donations for his medical expenses.
Marjorie Cooke, the victim, read aloud from a three-page statement. She said there was something "ominous" about Grim and she felt that her daughter wasn't safe with him.
"Mr. Grim's revenge was a mafia-style intimidation," Ms. Cooke said. "Mr. Grim is a dangerous man, and I base this on what my daughter knows about him and the action he inflicted upon that poor little dog."
Grim last saw his former girlfriend, Sue Cantu, on New Year's Eve 2004. They had been dating for a few months and Ms. Cantu, then 20, told him that her mother didn't want them to see each other anymore, said Assistant State's Attorney Kimberly DiPetro. Grim became angry and started calling Ms. Cooke names and Ms. Cantu ended the relationship.
On Jan. 3, 2005, Grim and a friend, George M. Treas, found Casper sleeping on the porch of a home in Baltimore, which is where Grim was living at the time. They put the dog into a work van and drove it to a school not far from Ms. Cooke's home in Millersville. Grim slashed Casper's throat, drove him to Ms. Cooke's home and left the bleeding dog on her front steps.
Residents saw a trail of blood starting in the parking lot of the Rockbridge Academy, about a mile away. A bloody belt was found in the grass nearby. Police said it appeared that Grim used the belt to hold Casper up on his hind legs to cut his throat.
Ms. Cooke had left her home at 5:15 a.m. to drive Ms. Cantu to the airport. When she returned shortly before 7 a.m., she saw a bloody rag and a pool of blood on her front step. The tires to her other car were slashed. Casper stumbled to a house a few doors down before collapsing. A neighbor found him and called 911. Casper was treated at Bay County Veterinary Hospital.
Casper's owner had previously given the dog to a nephew who let it walk around a neighborhood in Brooklyn, near the Anne Arundel County line. Casper has since recovered, but is still skittish around strangers, Ms. DiPetro said.
Ms. DiPetro dropped charges against Mr. Treas because he gave a full account of the attack and would have testified for the state if Grim had gone to trial. Mr. Treas also said he and Grim used heroin while driving around with the dog in the van.
Ms. Cooke and Ms. Cantu "are glad to put it behind them and are also relieved to know that he can't harm them anymore," Ms. DiPetro said. "They are very close to each other."
3 years isn't good enough!
