A Waukegan man who threatened and abused a relative and killed three dogs, burying them in the yard of the house he was living in at the time, was sentenced to 10 years in prison Friday.
Under a negotiated plea deal, Juan Rositas, 51, pleaded guilty to one count of armed violence, a felony carrying a possible prison term of up to 30 years, and three merged counts of animal torture, a felony that carries a standard sentencing range of two to five years in prison.
More Top Picks Best Absinthe Fountains
Under the deal approved by Judge James Booras, Rositas was sentenced to 10 years in prison on the armed violence charge and 10 years on the animal torture charge, which includes an extension over the standard range due to instances of “heinous behavior and wanton cruelty,” Assistant State’s Attorney Jason Humke said.
The two sentences will be served concurrently for a total of 10 years in prison, with the possibility of day-for-day good time credit, which would reduce the term to five years if prison officials award it to him, Booras said.
Rositas also is receiving credit for 606 days served in Lake County Jail, so he could potentially be released from prison after serving between three and four years. He also must serve a mandatory period of at least a year of supervision after his release.
According to prosecutors, the relative was beaten, abused and threatened with a machete in 2014 and 2015.
Also, Humke told the court that in late 2014, a dog named Bandit was struck and suffocated by Rositas, a dog named Toro was bound by the paws and struck with a sledgehammer, and that in early 2015, a dog named Ranger was struck with a hammer.
All three dogs killed were pit bulls. When details of the dog killings were released, animal-rights activists held protests outside the Lake County Courthouse last year in response.
The relative involved in the case described the dogs as her “babies” in a victim-impact statement read in court by a Lake County state’s attorney’s office staff member.
“No one knows what it’s like to see your babies (dogs) murdered in front of you, and how it feels to give your dogs CPR as they lay there dying in your arms,” the relative wrote in the statement.
The victim also said in the statement that Rositas repeatedly threatened her with a machete and poured “boiling soup” on her when she was in bed.
“There was a point when it seemed so bad I thought he was literally going to kill me,” the statement said. “I wish to close this chapter of my life so I can begin to heal,” she wrote, but added that she would be “reliving these events over and over in my mind” for some time.
Defense attorney Gabriel Conroe had no comment on the plea agreement.
Humke said that under the agreement, Rositas was sentenced to the maximum that he could be for the animal torture. In exchange for the guilty pleas, other charges, including aggravated kidnapping, domestic violence, unlawful restraint and stalking, were dismissed.
Rositas has been held in Lake County Jail with bail set at $750,000 since his arrest. His bail is now revoked and he is expected to be transferred to prison in about two weeks.
Humke and Assistant State’s Attorney Suzanna Willett said the plea deal provides justice for the dogs that were killed and the relative, and will allow the relative to begin the closure process before the holidays.
Twitter @jnewton5