An “incredibly intoxicated” Pennsylvania man who shot and grilled his canine in a fireplace pit will serve up to 4 years in prison, prosecutors stated.
Nikolay Lukyanchikov, 50, was sentenced Wednesday to two to 4 years in state prison after pleading responsible to aggravated cruelty to animals and different expenses within the canine’s grotesque demise final April, according to the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office.
A choose additionally barred Lukyanchikov — who informed investigators he shot the rescued greyhound he renamed Preacher as a result of he was “having a rough day” — from proudly owning or caring for any animal upon his launch.
The canine, which was found atop a fireplace pit within the entrance yard of Lukyanchikov’s Northampton Township dwelling, was rescued together with 117 others in 2019 from a racetrack in China described because the “worst hellhole” for racing canine on the planet, prosecutors stated.
Lukyanchikov then adopted the previous racing canine in Philadelphia later that yr and renamed him Preacher. Cops responded to the person’s dwelling on April 30 and discovered a burning fireplace pit together with a sofa in flames.
Police stated in an affidavit they discovered Lukyanchikov “incredibly intoxicated” as he sat on a bench close to the hearth and tossed faux $100 payments into the flames whereas squirting it with lighter fluid. He additionally had a 9mm handgun was loaded with blanks, cops stated.
The badly burned and charred canine was then discovered atop a small metallic charcoal grill in Lukyanchikov’s yard. A necropsy decided Preacher had been shot a minimum of as soon as, authorities stated.
Lukyanchikov’s roommate informed cops he had shot Preacher earlier that day in his room. Investigators seized a 9mm handgun loaded with 5 hollow-point rounds contained in the residence, prosecutors stated.
Every week prior to the macabre discovery, Lukyanchikov had stolen a 9mm Beretta handgun with an prolonged journal from a buddy’s widow that he used to kill Preacher, Deputy District Attorney Robert James informed Judge Raymond McHugh Wednesday.
Lukyanchikov, who had tried to purchase a gun for himself however was denied due to a previous involuntary dedication in 2011, informed McHugh Wednesday he was “very sorry” for his actions, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
“It scares me because you know you’re not supposed to have a gun, and you kept pursuing one,” McHugh informed Lukyanchikov. “You should not have a gun, period.”
Lukyanchikov’s blood-alcohol stage was 0.25 when he was taken into custody and was so intoxicated he was unable to communicate, the Inquirer reported, citing a police affidavit.
“I think it’s fair to characterize him as a dangerous person who demonstrated his use of a gun on an animal,” James stated. “And it’s not a stretch to think he’d use it on a human.”
