SEATTLE – This story was originally published on MyNorthwest.com.
A former Ballard kennel employee pleaded guilty Wednesday to a first-degree animal cruelty charge after he killed a dog by beating it to death in August 2025.
The defendant, Dejean Bowens, faced the highest-level felony animal cruelty charge in Washington. The dog’s owners, Anthony and Neela Brocato, addressed the court.
In his victim impact statement, Anthony Brocato said Mitch was more than a pet to him and his partner.
“The happiness and love Mitch brought to our lives were nothing short of magical. Mitch was a 65-pound black lab who was the sweetest, loving, gentle creature god could have put on this earth. He was more than our animal companion; he was our shadow, our good morning, and our goodnight. He was our baby boy,” he said.
Anthony Brocato said Mitch fought to survive, and that his last memory of him was a faint nuzzle.
“My final memory of Mitch alive was him pulling away from his oxygen mask … reaching his nose towards me. Despite all my optimism in the moment, I know now he was trying to say goodbye to me,” he said.
Anthony Brocato called out Bowens for his monstrous actions.
“I watched the security footage of you kicking and punching my sweet boy, Mitch. Once you realized you took it too far and called your co-worker for help, you cried … not because of what you did to Mitch … but you cried for yourself because you knew there was no hiding this heinous act of violence,” he said. “It was clear to me this wasn’t the first time you’ve hurt an animal, but you knew this would be the first time you would face consequences.”
Neela Brocato gave birth to the couple’s first child on July 31, 2025. They were planning to pick up Mitch from Lazy Dog Crazy Dog on August 3, a facility they had used for years without incident. Instead, Neela Brocato said Bowens took that moment from them.
“What you did to Mitch was not just violent. It was devastating. It was cruel. It was final,” she said. “And it changed every part of my life forever. There was no closure in bringing our newborn daughter home from the hospital hours before you killed him. There is no peace in knowing his life ended because of your violent actions and that his last hours on earth were spent in pain and terror. There is no healing from the fact that he was not only taken from us, but that his life ended in a way that was brutal and senseless.”
Neela Brocato spoke directly to Bowens, contrasting the violence of his actions with the love Mitch brought into their lives.
“Mitch brought light into this world. You brought violence, pain, and death. And no matter what happens to you from this point forward, that is the truth you will never be able to outrun. That is what you did. That is your legacy,” she said.
Bowens faces up to three months with credit for time served on electronic home detention, according to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office (KCPAO).
KCPAO noted that judges follow the sentencing guidelines set by state lawmakers, and a specific individual’s sentencing range is influenced by their offender score. An offender score is influenced by the number of previous convictions a person has.
In this case, Bowens did not have any previous convictions, making his offender score zero. Bowens score corresponds with a one- to three-month sentencing range set by lawmakers. Prosecutors sought the highest sentence possible under the range set by lawmakers.
“The unfortunate reality is the statewide sentencing guidelines for crimes against animals do not reflect the emotional impact of animal cruelty,” KCPAO stated.
First-degree animal cruelty allows for a lifetime ban on possessing, owning, and caring for animals of any kind. For Bowens, this felony conviction also prohibits him from legally possessing firearms.
“There were some folks who wondered, ‘Why didn’t you go for a gross misdemeanor?’ Which would have meant a reduced charge from a felony to a misdemeanor, but potentially more jail time because that would have given the judge an option to sentence him for up to a year,” KCPAO’s Casey McNerthney told Newsradio. “The reason is we wanted that felony conviction because of the 1st degree animal cruelty and felony conviction. Prosecutors could ask as part of the agreement that a judge order him not to have any contact with any animal in the future.
“So not only does he have that felony conviction. But he can’t have contact with any animals going forward, and that wouldn’t have been possible with a misdemeanor,” McNerthney said. “It would have been a benefit in the short term, had the judge been given that option to go for a few more months in jail, but what we thought was to get that felony conviction, not only to have that felony on his record, which increases his offender score if he ever has any kind of felony conviction going forward, but also, we really wanted to get that no contact order with any animal going forward.”
KCPAO noted that the fel…
ट्विटर पर साझा करें: Former Ballard kennel employee sentenced to 3 months max for beating dog to death
