A Scott County man has been sentenced after being convicted on charges in connection to the shooting and killing of a dog last year.
Thirty-eight-year-old Phillip Lovekamp of Bluffs was sentenced on Monday in Scott County Court to two years of probation and five weekends in jail for reckless discharge of a firearm and aggravated cruelty to animals.
Lovekamp was convicted in a bench trial in Scott County in February after being arrested last October.
According to the Bluffs Police Department, a male dog named Rampage got loose and approached a female dog belonging to Lovekamp. His dog was reportedly tied up at the time, and when Rampage approached, he walked outside to untangle his dog’s chain.
Police reports claim that Rampage showed no signs of aggression, but because the dogs were of opposite sex, Lovekamp was afraid of being attacked if he approached them. Lovekamp reportedly went back into his residence to retrieve a gun, walked back outside and fatally shot Rampage.
Scott County State’s Attorney Michael Hill says he thinks this was a fair sentence, given the circumstances.
“Mr. Lovekamp doesn’t have much of a criminal history. He does have some factors in his social history that warrant some attention, and I think the probation department here will really dig into that and we’ll be able to serve Mr. Lovekamp, and also through doing that, serve the public in general by maybe correcting some of the behavior that led to this,” says Hill.
“The five weekends in jail, I think that sends a good message that first of all it’s not right to fire firearms in a town. And to the aggravated cruelty to the animal, it certainly speaks to that as well. Companion animals, we’ve all had pets or at least know people who have them. When there’s a senseless act like this committed upon one of them, it really polarizes the community, and I think this sends a good message that that’s just not going to be tolerated,” he adds.
Lovekamp was fined $2,000 plus court costs, and ordered to pay just over $350 in restitution to the Griggsville Veterinary Clinic.