LAS VEGAS — A judge ordered a psychological assessment for a 22-year-old Las Vegas man who told police he slashed the throat of the family dog because he liked to hurt animals.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports (http://bit.ly/1bDVLk8 ) that Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Deborah Lippis on Wednesday ordered Jeremy Espiritu held in jail at least until a competency court hearing Jan. 3.
Espiritu was arrested Thursday on a felony charge of killing the animal of another.
Police say he admitted stabbing and slitting the throat of the black Labrador mixed breed named Serenity at his parents’ home.
His stepfather, who was asleep in another room at the time, told police that Espiritu is a drug abuser who didn’t live at the home and would disappear for weeks at a time.