HOWARD COUNTY, Md. — A Howard County Circuit Court Judge sentenced Cory Markus Jones to one year in jail after he pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated animal cruelty for killing a dog in Ellicott City in 2019.
On December 30, 2019, Howard County Police responded to a report of a trail of blood seen on the walkway in the 8900 block of Town and Country Boulevard.
Officers followed the trail and found a dead pit bull tied to a tree with its throat cut. It appeared the animal struggled to free itself before succumbing to its injuries.
Police located the apartment where the dog, who was being cared for by a friend of the owner, had been staying. After interviews with witnesses, police identified Jones, who had been staying at the apartment, as the person responsible for the killing.
At the time, Jones was hiding in a bathtub behind a shower curtain in the apartment.
In addition to the one year active jail sentence, the judge placed Jones on three years of supervised probation with special conditions that he undergo a mental health evaluation and treatment as recommended, anger management counseling, have no animals in his residence or in his care, custody or control, have quarterly checks of his home to ensure no animals are present, and have no contact with the dog’s owner.
“This is one of the worst animal abuse cases we’ve seen,” said Howard County State’s Attorney Rich Gibson. “It is unconscionable to think that Mr. Jones intentionally tortured this Pitbull named ‘Blue’ and left her to die in a poor, defenseless state. I hope he spends his incarcerated time and his time under community supervision pondering the deliberate cruelty he inflicted on this helpless animal and the pain it caused to the owner.”
