Aaron Hacecky (Davidson County Jail)
A 25-year-old man in South Dakota was arrested after he allegedly beat his girlfriend’s dog to death with his bare hands, using duct tape to bind its mouth and legs before brutally pummeling the animal.
Aaron Hacecky was taken into custody on July 30 and is currently facing one count of cruelty to an animal, a Class 6 felony, one count of possession of a controlled substance, and one count of possession of drug paraphernalia, authorities confirmed to Law&Crime.
According to a copy of the probable cause affidavit obtained by The Daily Republic, officers with Mitchell Police Department on July 30 responded to a call at a residence on West 12th Street regarding a domestic incident. Upon arriving at the scene, the first responding officer reportedly said that he observed an adult male — later identified as Hacecky — “punching a black lab in the head several times with a closed fist.”
After witnessing the attack, the officer immediately placed Hacecky in handcuffs to prevent him from harming the animal any further, the report states.
Once Hacecky was neutralized, the officer went to the dog and noticed that its mouth had been “tightly shut” and bound with duct tape, Sioux Falls CBS affiliate KELO-TV reported. The dog’s two front legs and its back legs had also reportedly been taped together.
“The dog was struggling to breathe and its chest was making very rapid, large rise and falls of attempting to breathe,” the officer wrote.
The officer was able to get the duct tape off of the dog’s mouth and legs and reportedly saw that the animal was actively bleeding from its nose.
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Hacecky allegedly told the officer that the dog, whose name was “Buddy,” belonged to his girlfriend. He reportedly went on to explain that Buddy ran away from the home earlier in the day, returned to the house, then defecated and urinated in the house. Hacecky allegedly said that Buddy then bit him on the hand, which is when he brought the animal outside, bound him, and proceeded to ruthlessly beat the animal.
According to KELO, Hacecky admitted to police that he punched and kicked the dog in the ribs an unknown number of times. He also allegedly said that he stopped the vicious assault so he could go inside and “rinse his hands” of blood before returning to the yard and continuing the beating.
Police said that despite Hacecky’s claim about being bit, the animal showed no signs of aggression.
Buddy was rushed to a local veterinarian where he succumbed to his injuries and died.
Hacecky was processed at the Davidson County Jail and released after posting $4,000 bond. He pleaded not guilty to the aforementioned charges on Aug. 15 and is reportedly due back in court on Nov. 21 for a status hearing.
Hacecky is facing a maximum sentence of two years in prison on the animal cruelty charge and a fine of up to $4,000. On the controlled substance charge, he is facing a maximum of five years in prison and a fine of $10,000.
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