Thurston County man convicted of brutal killing of dog, sentenced to four years in prison

By Emily Fitzgerald / [email protected]

A Thurston County man convicted in April of killing someone's dog and throwing it into the Nisqually River in October 2023 was sentenced Friday to 48 months, or four years, in prison.

A jury found Zachary Tighe Dickinson, 27, guilty April 17 of one count of first-degree animal cruelty, which included enhancement of a firearm and a flagrant lack of remorse aggravator , and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm, according to Thurston County. The prosecutor's office.

The verdict came after a two-week trial in Thurston County Superior Court.

“The court hopes… that your time in prison will allow you to continue to grow as a person and, ultimately, move beyond this point and become an active member of the community and an active, supportive member of your family again.” ” Judge Allyson Zipp told Dickinson during her sentencing hearing Friday, June 21.

To one of the dog's teenage owners, who spoke Friday about the impact this case has had on her, Zipp said: “I hope that with this conclusion at this stage of the process, you can also move on to something else and come back. continue to recover and grow in your life beyond the events of this day and not let this day define you either.

The incident itself occurred around 6 p.m. on October 16, 2023, at a multi-family residence on Conine Avenue Southeast in Olympia, according to the Thurston County Prosecutor's Office and charging documents filed in Superior Court of Thurston County.

One of the dog's owners, a teenager identified in court Friday by only her first name, Yaqueline, reported that Dickenson called her two dogs outside to feed them, but only one dog, a rottweiler named Rocky, came out.

A few minutes later, Yaqueline heard Rocky “screaming and yelping in pain” and walked to the back door to find Rocky “pounding on the door, bleeding all over his body.”

Dickinsin entered the house “holding a knife” with “blood visible on his pants and shoes.” Dickinson then yelled something about “knowing this was going to happen,” about Rocky eating meat from a deer he had recently shot and hung outside to dry, according to court documents.

Dickinson then began asking for a gun that was in the house. Yaqueline and Rocky's other teenage owner, AJ, then ran away, but heard “what sounded like a gunshot,” according to court documents.

In a statement about the impact the incident and trial had on her, Yaqueline said Friday: “One thing that affected me the most was the fact that I couldn't stop thinking about it. I couldn't go to school. I couldn't concentrate. I had to go to therapy for my nightmares. The image of Rocky will never disappear.

Thurston County Sheriff's Office deputies were dispatched to the Conine Avenue Southeast address around 6:30 p.m. on October 16. They were initially told the incident was a weapons violation, but while they were en route, a dispatcher informed them that “the call may be a domestic violence call during of which the suspect shot and killed the reporter's dog,” according to court documents.

Due to a 2019 conviction in Grays Harbor County Superior Court on a felony charge of third-degree rape of a child, Dickinson cannot legally own or possess firearms.

A deputy who responded to Conine Avenue the night of the incident reportedly found a bloody paw print leading to the back porch and followed a trail of blood that led to the river behind the property. At the end of the trail, the deputy found Rocky's body in the river at the base of a steep embankment, according to court documents.

The Thurston County Sheriff's Office dive team used specialized equipment to recover Rocky's body from the river, then transported him to Animal Services for an autopsy, according to the prosecutor's office.

The dog's location at the bottom of the embankment and autopsy results indicated that Rocky was alive when he was thrown into the river and managed to swim to shore before succumbing to his injuries, according to the prosecutor Deputy Randy Trick. He suffered three wounds caused by a knife and a bullet in the neck, which caused him to die “of shock following loss of blood after having suffered a lot”, according to the prosecution.

“This was a deliberate, premeditated, prolonged and bloody attack, committed with a degree of brutality and disregard for life which raises considerable concern about the accused's future capacity and propensity for violence ” Trick said during Dickinson's sentencing hearing Friday, where he asked for a 70-month prison term.

The standard sentencing range, which takes into account the severity of the charges and the defendant's criminal history, in Dickinson's case was zero to 12 months for the animal cruelty charge and 26 to 34 months for illegal possession of a firearm, plus 18 months. One month gun upgrade.

Due to the jury's decision that Dickinson was guilty of the aggravating blatant lack of remorse, the court was permitted to set Dickinson's sentence above the standard sentencing range by making the sentences for two counts be executed consecutively rather than simultaneously. In this case, the aggravating officer increased the maximum sentence imposed from 52 months to 90 months.

The minimum sentence set by the standard sentencing range in Dickinson's case was 44 months, which defense attorney Matthew Kellegrew requested Friday.

“Forty-four months is a tough thing to ask for as a defense attorney, but that's what the law says,” Kellegrew said Friday.

Kellegrew argued Friday that while he and Dickinson respected the jury's verdict, Dickinson had the right to maintain his innocence and that his decision to use that right “does not indicate some degree of remorse or lack of remorse “.

When given the opportunity to speak to the court before sentencing, Dickinson said: “I respect the jury's decision, but I can't sit here and say I'm guilty when I'm not. am not. I feel bad about this whole thing. It's pretty sad that kids had to go through that experience, that Rocky isn't here anymore… (but) I can't show remorse for something I didn't do.

Dickinson maintained his innocence throughout his case.

He was arrested on Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2023, and posted $50,000 bond on Oct. 20 after charges were filed on Oct. 19, according to court documents and reporting from The Olympian.

Thurston County Jail records indicate Dickinson has been held without bail since he was convicted on April 17, 2024.

While the jury's verdict allowed for an exceptional sentence, Zipp chose not to set one, instead sentencing Dickinson to a concurrent sentence of 12 months on the animal cruelty charge and 30 months on the firearm charge, plus 18 months for firearm upgrade.

Under state law, sentences related to enhancements must run consecutively to sentences set for other charges in the same case.

In addition to the prison sentence, Zipp granted the prosecution's requests for a restraining order prohibiting Dickinson from having any contact with Yaqueline or AJ for the next 10 years.

Under state law, an animal cruelty conviction prohibits Dickinson from owning, caring for or residing with an animal. He is also required to pay a $1,000 civil service fee, which will go toward prosecuting animal cruelty cases and caring for abandoned animals.

Zipp granted Dickinson's request to find mental health was a factor in the case so he could better access mental health services in prison.

“As prosecutors, it is our duty to seek justice, especially in cases involving cruel and senseless suffering inflicted on a living being,” Thurston County Prosecutor Jon Tunheim said in a press release Friday afternoon. “This conviction sends a clear message that conduct involving such animal cruelty will not be tolerated in our community. »

In addition to the teamwork of Trick and fellow Assistant District Attorney Rudy Breteler, the DA's office relied heavily on the work of victim advocate Shayleah Turner, the DA's office said in a news release .

“The specialized work of a victim advocate is particularly important in giving a voice to minors who have been affected by crime and in helping to minimize the possible trauma of participating in a trial,” the press release states.

During the 2024 legislative session, the Washington State Legislature classified first-degree animal cruelty as a Level 3 offense, meaning it can have an effect on the felony offender score of the accused. Previously, the crime was a cold offense in most cases, meaning the standard sentence, regardless of the defendant's criminal history, had to be one year in prison or less.

The change made by the legislature means that the offense, regardless of how the crime is committed, is now punishable by a standard maximum sentence of five years in prison, depending on the number of prior felony convictions of the accused, according to the prosecutor's office.