Actor Pleads No Contest To Killing, Eating Ex-Girlfriend's Pet Rabbit
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Authorities said a 47-year-old North Hollywood man pleaded no contest to animal cruelty charges Friday for killing his girlfriend's pet rabbit.
Officials said that Dimitri Diatchenko killed the rabbit, cooked it and then ate part of. He sent the ex-girlfriend graphic pictures of what he did, the DA said.
Diatchenko -- a San Francisco native -- entered his plea to one count of animal cruelty before Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Michael Jesic.
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An actor by trade, Diatchenko was immediately sentenced to three years formal probation, 60 days community service and 48 hours of animal cruelty counseling.
Deputy DA Elan Carr said the defendant killed the rabbit -- named Ella -- on Dec. 6, 2014, after his ex told the defendant that they should no longer live together.
In a preliminary hearing, the ex (whose identity was withheld) testified that Diatchenko said about Ella, "it was fun to snap her neck."
At one point, Diatchenko denied harming the rabbit calling it "a big hoax."
According to his imdb.com bio, Diatchenko was attacked by a wolf when he was 3-years-old and his face required 250 stitches.
His credits include "Sons of Anarchy," "General Hospital," "Alias," "CSI: Miami," and "Burn Notice."
