45 Days Home Detention In Western Md. Animal Cruelty Case

CUMBERLAND, Md. (AP) -- A Cumberland man has been given 45 days of home confinement for letting nine dogs starve to death in an empty house.

The Cumberland Times-News reports that 29-year-old Christopher Preston was sentenced Tuesday.

Preston was convicted in December of 10 counts of animal cruelty. He faced a maximum sentence of 15 months in jail and a $5,000 fine.

The state parole and probation agency recommended a one-month jail term. But Allegany County Circuit Judge Gary Leasure was swayed by defense attorney Stephen Tully's argument that any incarceration would cost Preston his job.

Preston said at his trial he suffered from depression and marital and financial problems when he moved out of the house last summer, leaving 12 dogs with no food or water. Three of the dogs survived.