The Antelope Valley Times

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Man gets 5 years in dog shooting

by •

Lepaul Gardner
Lepaul Gardner

LANCASTER – A 26-year-old man accused of slamming a small dog against the floor before shooting and killing the dog will serve prison time, authorities said.

LePaul Wuornos Gardner will spend five years in state prison after accepting an agreement with the District Attorney’s office on April 26, according to a press release from the Los Angeles Department of Animal Care and Control (DACC).

“Animal cruelty is taken very seriously and will not be tolerated,” said DACC Director Marcia Mayeda. “Fortunately, our officers prepared an excellent case— complete with a thorough investigation and solid evidence—for the District Attorney’s office to review, which aided in determining the charges.”

Gardner brutalized and then shot a Bichon Frisé, similar to this one. [not actual dog]
Gardner brutalized and then shot a Bichon Frisé, similar to this one. [not actual dog]
Last month, Gardner repeatedly brutalized and then murdered a 7-year-old Bichon Frise at the home he shared with the dog’s owner in the 43700 block of Rembrandt Street in the Lancaster, according to DACC spokeswoman Evelina Villa.

In a press release issued Wednesday, Villa stated:

“On April 14, officers from the County of Los Angeles Department of Animal Care and Control (DACC) responded to a call from a dog owner claiming her dog had been shot. When officers arrived on scene, it was revealed that the defendant, who lived with the dog owner, started brutalizing the dog earlier in the week by continuously slamming the small white dog against the floor. Moments prior to the shooting, the defendant tossed the dog to the ground one final time, pointed a gun at the dog owner, and then turned the gun towards the dog and shot the senior Bichon Frisé in the chest.”

Gardner was originally charged with assault with a firearm and felony cruelty to an animal, according to court records. On April 26, Gardner pleaded no contest to assault with a firearm in exchange for the dismissal of the felony cruelty to an animal charge, according to Jane Robison of the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office.

If you suspect animal cruelty in your neighborhood, contact DACC’s Communication Center at 661-940-4191. The Communication Center is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

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Filed Under: Crime/ Safety

39 comments for "Man gets 5 years in dog shooting"

  1. And I hope he spends every minute on his hands & knees paying for what he did. Hope they all find out what he did!!!

    • I knew this young man. He came from a solid foundation, educated and served our country, went to Afghanistan and Iraq. Came back to the U.S. and couldn’t get a job thanks to the president u all voted in. I disagree with what he did, however like many of young men that return from war, unless you have lost a limb or brains blown out there is absolutely no support for what they endured. We can drop babies off in dumpsters, hospitals, drugs but don’t kill or hurt an animal cause u will get life. He was disturbed yes, when he returned from the war but he doesn’t however deserve prison time. He served your country honorably and had a legal firearm. No criminal history whatsoever. So you tell me what happened that day. You will never know the whole truth because a dog is dead and he took a plea bargain because he was threatened by the legal system. A plea bargain is exactly that. He got off of the dog charge. You really believe you got the whole truth and nothing but the truth. I DON’T THINK SO. BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU SAY BECAUSE IT COULD HAPPEN TO YOU. FROM SOMEONE WHO KNOWS THE TRUTH.

      • I agree that mental issues do arise after serving the country, but that still does not excuse what happened. If he is indeed disturbed, then he should not be able to carry a handgun. Plain and simple. What happens when the next time it is an old lady being thrown against a wall and then taken? I respect our veterans, but at the end of the day, I have never personally asked anyone to go “fight” for me. Especially when the said fight is draining our economy and producing no real results. This slaying, as well as his enlistment, were choices he made and will now need to deal with. I do not want to sound harsh, because I strongly feel our returning soldiers need more support, both financially and emotionally, but at the end of the day, this is a path all of our soldiers choose.

      • If what you say is true, it is very unfortunate that no one close to him realised he suffered from PTSD, which is being treated by the V.A. as far as I know.
        That would explain a lot including the appearance in the above picture.

  2. For all of you folks who support having handguns in the USA, this is what happens. Ban handguns from this country, so individuals cannot harm others and poor helpless animals!

    • Problem with that is, the people who shouldn’t really have the guns will still be able to get them illegally. Unless of course you destroy every single gun in the US. Then we have a whole other proglem with black market operations.

      Besides, if that man didn’t have a gun, he could have easily taken another weapon and killed the dog.

    • How ignorant are you ?
      Guns don’t kill, people do !
      This guy obviously had issues, He abused an innocent animal that had no means of protecting itself. He also pointed the gun at the owner, this guy is a real winner and probably wouldn’t have passed the background to get the gun legally.

    • @Rives – Ban guns, and they won’t exist. Guns kill, so banning them will stop the violence? Is that what you are saying? ya know what, maybe you’re right…then again, isn’t it already illegal to possess bombs, or even bombmaking materials? Why yes, I believe it is… yet bombings continue (the latest being Boston). Drugs are illegal, yet people still take them. Drinking and driving is illegal, yet even this forum is full of alcohol related deaths. So I guess you’re “ban the bad things” position is flawed. You don’t blame a car for killing someone do you? You blame the (reckless, drunk, or whatever) driver. Why is it people like you always think the gun is what caused the problem?

      Looks like we better ban printers now, too:

      http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2013/05/06/shots-fired-from-world-first-3d-printed-gun/

      • Saw that yesterday, wild isn’t it.yep, better ban those 3d printers.
        Seriously, people like this evil looking fool will always be able to get a gun and it won’t be registered either.It is a false issue because the real issues are mental health and the ability to control anti social personalities in this society.

  3. If you read the very end, the 5 year sentence was for felony assault with a firearm and NOT for the killing of the dog. Those charges were dropped. And though plead deals seems wrong, they serve a purpose. This case would have tied up the court system and in the end he still served jail time. The animal cruelty charge carries a shorter sentence anyway, less then 3 years. So in the end, him being convicted of the assault charge is better

  4. Makes me sick. Poor helpless puppy. There is a special place in HELL for people like this. Animal and child abusers … yeah.. it is the seventh level of hell for you!

  6. That name,Wuornos is also the name of a serial killer,Aileen Wuornos,main character in the movie Monster.Perhaps he is related,sure looks evil enough.Don’t look at that picture for too long,nightmares.
    Wonder if he registered that gun.

  7. Wow, that’s a lot of time, but this psycho deserves to serve every second of it. These types crimes must be dealt with severely to punish the criminal and to send a message that animal cruelty is completely unacceptable.

  8. I am glad THIS got him put behind bars before his desires to cause pain and death transcended to other humans. Serial killer in the making right there.

  9. I guess the owner is lucky it wasn’t him instead!! Poor pup and I’m glad to see justice being served!!!

  11. I’m probably going to hell for saying this, but I hope he gets raped, tortured and murdered in prison. If not, I’ll be waiting for him when he gets out…

  12. wow, what kind of monster is that??? This is addamLanza typo, could easily go to school for rampage… I hope he will never get out.

  13. This makes me sick!! The owner should’ve had something done prior to this even, if they were afraid. I can’t believe that he was able to get the charges reduced.. That’s what’s wrong with our courts!

  14. This makes me sick!! The owner should’ve done something prior to this happening. Even, if they were scared. But, what I can’t understand is how this piece of _____!!!, gets to plead down his charges…. Someone needs to beat the _____, out of him. That’s what is wrong with our courts.

  15. Are you freaking kidding me? This man gets more time in prison than the murder of a human being. I love dogs, but think this is ridiculous. Now we are the ones who will be paying our hard earn money in taxes to support him in jail. And these kinds of punishments should be left for more serious crimes, child endangerment, child abuse, murder etc. shaking my head.

    • Don’t you see he is crazy?? He could easily kill dog owner as well, who just got very lucky that day… I hope this dog killer never get out, because if he does get out, he will kill someone. Might be you.

      • Ha ha ha, sounds good, also a lot of fun for people watching him flying :-)

    • As mentioned above,the sentence was for assault with a firearm,felony cruelty to an animal was dropped.

  16. Its interesting his name is the same as the female serial killer who charlize theron portrayed

  17. the dog owner should also be charged if the story is correct in saying he started brutalizing the dog earlier in the week. If the owner didn’t report it when it started, they are just as guilty for letting it go on.

  18. I relish in the thought that he will also be slammed against the wall and have things done to him as well. He looks Pretty he wont hast long. He is a Pathetic Punk and with the name LePaul, you KNOW he is going to be someones Bia-tch… Coward you get what you deserve… My heart goes out to the owner,

  19. Good! Prison time is just what this guy needs. He should also not be allowed to own or live in a household with any pets for the rest of his life.