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ROSWELL (AP) — A New Mexico man has pleaded no contest to charges of severely beating a dog with a bat and burning another with chemicals.
The Roswell Daily Record reports that 48-year-old Luis Baltazar entered his plea Monday in Roswell District Court.
According to the Chaves County Sheriff’s Office, in July deputies found Baltazar with a bloody bat at his home and a dog with several breaks to the jaw and snout and an eye socket that had been shattered. Deputies said a second dog had chemical burns on the back.
His attorney, Harry Wilcox, said Baltazar was driven to this action by his neighbors who complained about the dogs’ barking.
Judge Steven L. Bell sentenced Baltazar to 18 months in jail but suspended all but 90 days.
