4 people convicted for their role in dog hanging death east of Indy in 2022

INDIANAPOLIS — Two years after hanging and fatally stabbing a dog named Deron that they adopted from an Indianapolis shelter, the last of four Indy residents has been sentenced.

Clifford Massey was sentenced on June 20 to a two-year sentence, with one year suspended, after initially being accused of:

• Torturing or mutilating a vertebrate animal, level 6 felony
• Obstruction of justice

His sentence also included one year of house arrest and one year of probation which can be revoked if he completes his house arrest without any violations and completes a mental health evaluation. Massey was also ordered to pay $849 in restitution costs.

Zech Thomsen was sentenced last month, on May 31, to two and a half years in prison after being charged with:

• Torturing or mutilating a vertebrate animal, level 6 felony
• Battery on a public safety officer, level 6 felony
• Obstructing Justice, Level 6 Misdemeanor
• Resisting law enforcement, class A misdemeanor

Thomsen will serve this additional sentence for his role in Deron's death after completing his 27-year sentence in the Indiana Department of Corrections for shooting and killing Vincent Clifyton, Jr. in 2022.

Online court records indicate Thomsen was previously charged with false imprisonment, domestic battery, strangulation and resisting law enforcement in 2021. He would end up serving less than a year on probation after pleading guilty of resisting law enforcement and had the other charges dismissed.

Sierra Makin was sentenced earlier this year on January 18 to three years, including one year in prison and one year in Marion County Community Corrections. Makin was also ordered to take anger management classes. She was accused of:

• Battery resulting in bodily injury to a public safety officer, level 5 felony
• Obstructing Justice, Level 6 Felony
• Resisting law enforcement, class A misdemeanor

On September 7, Denita Hughes was sentenced to 304 days of probation and fined $100.

(L to R: Zech Thomsen, Clifford Massey, Sierra Makin, Denita Hughes)

According to previous reports, the group adopted Deron on July 28, 2022 from Indianapolis Animal Protective Services. Nine days later, on August 6, Indianapolis Metro Police officers were called around 3 p.m. to the 700 block of Bosart Avenue after receiving reports that a dog had died after being seen hanging by its leash and stabbed several times.

Court documents said Thomsen allegedly hung Deron by his leash on the porch of the residence and stabbed him, while witnesses later told detectives that Makin and the others saw the dog being tortured and killed.

Another witness reportedly told police he saw Deron being stabbed while hanging on the porch before a trash bag was put over his head until the dog stopped moving.

Doorbell footage at the time appeared to show one of the men asking for a knife before saying he was going to “rip the brains out” of the dog.

In the video, Massey was allegedly seen torturing the dog while someone else could be heard yelling “F*** him up!”

About 20 minutes later, Makin could be heard asking, “Why did you do that, we're spending so much money on this guy.” »

Ten minutes later, Massey and Thomsen can be seen taking the dog to the trash and bringing it back inside the house.

Police eventually found Deron's body in the trash next to a bloody steak knife.

After police responded to the home, Makin allegedly hit a police officer with his fist and caused him to draw blood.

At one point during the altercation, Thomsen attempted to stop officers from handcuffing Makin, according to court documents. Makin allegedly bit one of the responding officers while Thomsen allegedly punched another officer in the back of the head.

Deron was 2 years old and IACS described him as an “energetic and affectionate guy.”

The incident led to renewed calls from the public and lawmakers to introduce tougher penalties for accusations of animal abuse. Senator JD Ford pushed for legislation that would have given longer sentences to animal abusers accused of animal cruelty.

According to previous reports, dog rescue organizations generally do not require background checks. However, some dog rescue volunteers in Indiana have called on lawmakers to introduce a law requiring background checks when adopting animals.