Woman Convicted Of Tossing Chihuahua Off SF Parking Garage Sentenced To Prison
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- A woman convicted of killing a Chihuahua by throwing it from the seventh floor of a parking garage in downtown San Francisco in February was sentenced to three years in state prison Thursday, according to prosecutors.
Wakeen "LaLa" Best was found guilty of animal cruelty, auto burglary and vandalism after a day of jury deliberation at the conclusion of a three-week trial.
"We asked for the maximum sentence because the defendant has shown no remorse whatsoever and went so far as to kill an innocent animal that got in her way while she burglarized a vehicle," Max Szabo, a spokesman for the district attorney, said Thursday in a statement. "The behavior is despicable and she needs to be held accountable."
Prosecutors said that Best entered the Stockton-Sutter Street Garage around 2 p.m. Feb. 10, broke into a Mercedes parked on the seventh floor and took a 4-year-old male Chihuahua named Dunky that had been left inside while his owner went to lunch.
A dashcam in the vehicle captured audio of Dunky barking, and a person saying "shut your ass up," although it was facing the wrong direction to capture video of Best. Still, prosecutors said they found security footage placing Best at the scene.
Defense attorney Alexandra Pray argued that if Best had attempted to burglarize the Mercedes she would have taken property from the vehicle after dropping Dunky to his death, however, there was nothing missing but the dog.
Investigators identified Best as a suspect, based on surveillance videos, and arrested her the following day in the vicinity of Bush and Polk streets.
After completing her sentence, the judge also ordered an additional eight months on supervised release.
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