A judge sentenced a man to two years in prison for torturing and seriously injuring his 4-month-old puppy at his McHenry apartment last year.
Joseph L. Lekics II, 33, of McHenry, pleaded guilty in a negotiated plea deal to animal torture, a Class 3 felony.
Lekics’ other charge of aggravated cruelty to animals was dismissed by prosecutors in exchange for the guilty plea.
McHenry County Judge Mark Gerhardt sentenced Lekics on Wednesday to two years in prison to be served at 50% with six months of mandatory supervised release.
He will receive nine days of credit for time served in the McHenry County Jail.
Gerhardt also ordered Lekics to pay $1,023.90 in court fines, costs and fees.
The McHenry Police Department responded on July 26, 2023, to the Hillcrest Apartments in the 1900 block of North Orleans Street in McHenry.
Then-McHenry Police Department Public Affairs Officer Michael Spohn said at the time that a neighbor called 911 because they were concerned after hearing a dog yelping.
Officers arrived and heard a dog yelping and crying inside an apartment.
They spoke with the owner, Lekics, who resided at the apartment complex.
The officer asked to see the dog and observed it was unconscious and bleeding from the mouth, Spohn said.
The dog, a 4-month-old female Alaskan Husky, was also drooling and having trouble breathing. Court documents say the dog had swollen eyes.
Lekics was placed under arrest for animal cruelty and the dog was transported to an animal hospital in Crystal Lake for treatment.
It was unknown how long the dog was initially unconscious, Spohn said. A police report said the dog was in and out of consciousness while being transported to the hospital.
A criminal complaint said Lekics caused the serious injuries to the puppy by striking it.
At the time, then-McHenry County Judge Michael Coppedge ordered Lekics to be held on a $15,000 bond.
In August 2023, Lekics was ordered to pay $3,948.52 to McHenry County Animal Control for costs incurred by the agency taking care of the dog.
Lekics is scheduled to turn himself into the McHenry County Jail on January 6 to begin serving his prison sentence, court documents show.