A 20-year-old Southeast Portland man who killed his brother's Rottweiler with a hammer and a knife because the dog's barking was making it difficult to sleep was sentenced Wednesday to six months in jail.
Multnomah County Circuit Judge Angel Lopez also banned defendant Abel Nistor from owning pets for 15 years. Nistor must undergo anger-management classes and therapy aimed at teaching him how to show empathy for animals.
So far, Nistor has spent a little more than two months in jail since his arrest in April.
About a week before he was taken into custody, Nistor had abandoned the dog, Leo, along a busy street, hoping to get rid of him. But strangers found Leo and brought him to an animal shelter, where family members retrieved him.
On April 27, Nistor took Leo into the woods near his family's Southeast Jenne Road house, not far from the Springwater Corridor Trail, and slit the dog's throat.
Investigators say Nistor wanted to be certain that the dog died, so he then retrieved a claw hammer from the home and struck the dog's head an estimated 15 to 18 times -- cracking the dog's skull and smashing his brain.
"It's a bloody horrible way to kill anything," said Deputy District Attorney Nicole Jergovic. "And the fact that the defendant was able to go through with that, I think, speaks volumes."
Nistor lived with his parents and five siblings. After the attack, authorities say that Nistor told his family that "I killed the dog in the cruelest way possible, and I kind of liked it" and that his family "will never find it."
Last week, Nistor pleaded guilty to first-degree aggravated animal abuse, animal abandonment and first-degree theft.
At Wednesday's sentencing hearing, Nistor's older brother, Lewis Nistor, told the judge that he believes his younger brother has served enough time. Lewis Nistor also said that he thinks his brother will be fine once he undergoes anger-management classes.
"I have forgiven my brother for what he has done," Lewis Nistor said. "I believe he deserves a second chance. ... This incident doesn't define my brother."
Defense attorney Erik Eklund had asked the judge to release his client from jail, saying the roughly two months that he's served has been enough.
Abel Nistor's psychological evaluation was "positive," Eklund said. He acknowledged that some research shows that defendants who hurt animals have gone on to kill humans, but said that's not who his client is.
"Not everyone who commits this crime is a budding serial killer," Eklund said.
The prosecutor asked the judge to follow sentencing recommendations by ordering Nistor to six months in jail.
Jergovic also said that a new psychological evaluation needs to be done, so Nistor gets the mental help he needs to deal with stress he will encounter in the future -- "to make sure this never happens again."
Jergovic said she was concerned that even after Nistor was arrested and he had time to reflect on what he'd done, he still thought he had no other choice but to kill the dog.
"When he was asked 'What would you do differently?' ... the defendant again responded that killing this dog was the only option he had," Jergovic said.
Nistor could have Googled for tips on how to deal with a barking dog, consulted a dog trainer or behavior specialist, bought a collar that releases citronella spray when the dog barks or called a Multnomah County dog barking hotline for guidance, she said.
"None of these were ever tried," Jergovic said.
In addition to the jail time and other provisions ordered by the judge, Nistor also will be on probation for three years, will be banned from owning weapons and must undergo mental health and drug-and-alcohol evaluations.
-- Aimee Green
503-294-5119
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