Terrence Pierce, 30, was indicted in September on two counts of fighting or baiting animals and two counts of animal cruelty.
Terrance Pierce
TRENTON — A city resident accused of dogfighting and stealing a puppy was sentenced last week to three years probation after pleading guilty to a fourth-degree animal cruelty charge.
Terrence Pierce, 30, was indicted in September on two counts of fighting or baiting animals and two counts of animal cruelty.
Pierce was initially charged last March after an investigation of his home on Cuyler Avenue turned up evidence that he was involved in dogfighting.
Investigators found treadmills rigged for dogs, spiked collars, dogfighting videos and batteries used to shock dogs that were wounded or unwilling to fight.
The investigation began after Trenton resident Lisa Ochana saw one of her pit bull puppies that was stolen from her back yard in the fall of 2011 had been put up for adoption at a city shelter in February 2012.
When Ochana asked the shelter where the dog had been found, they told her that it had been picked up from Pierce’s home as part of an animal cruelty raid in December 2011.
Ochana contacted the prosecutor’s office which lead to Pierce’s arrest in March.
As part of his plea deal, Pierce’s lesser animal cruelty charge and the two counts of fighting or baiting animals charge were dropped as was a count of theft for allegedly stealing Ochana’s puppy. Also dropped was one count of possession of a defaced firearm that was lodged after a 9mm semiautomatic weapon was found at Pierce’s home during the investigation.
During Pierce’s three years of probation, he is not allowed to own or care for animals, said Casey DeBlasio, a spokeswoman for the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office.