BENTONVILLE (KFSM) — A Rogers man was sentenced Tuesday (June 19) to 25 years in prison for assaulting his girlfriend and killing her puppy after an argument last fall.
Dusten Blake Ward, 24, pleaded guilty in Benton County Circuit Court to second-degree domestic battery, aggravated assault on family or household member, and aggravated cruelty to a dog — all felonies.
Judge Brad Karren also fined Ward $1,000 and gave him a 15-year suspended sentence to start once he’s released from the state Department of Correction.
Ward’s girlfriend told police she and Ward were arguing Oct. 24, 2017, at their home about her hound puppy when Ward slammed her against the wall, according to a probable cause affidavit.
She said Ward choked her several times before smashing her head against the wall. She passed out after that.
She said Ward dragged her outside, where she came to and grabbed her phone and a metal pipe to protect herself.
Ward grabbed both the phone and pipe, breaking the former so she couldn’t call 911, according to the affidavit.
She said Ward hit her several times with the metal pipe and then attacked the puppy with the pipe, killing it.
The woman was taken to Northwest Medical Center in Springdale, where police noted bruising to the woman’s neck and face, as well as under he eyes.
Police found the puppy dead under the woman’s house on White Oak Lane, according to the affidavit.
