2 students sentenced for role in mascot's torture

LAS VEGAS - Two high school students have been sentenced for their role in the theft and torture of another high school's canine mascot.

Douglas Stumpf and Richard McDonald, both 18, were ordered Friday to perform community service at an animal shelter and write letters of apology to the dog's owner.

Stumpf, whose put bull mauled the mascot during a staged fight, also was sentenced to two days in jail and 60 days of house arrest.

''We think we've done justice,'' said Clark County Chief Deputy District Attorney Ronald Bloxham, who received several hundred letters from people outraged by the incident that drew national attention.

Stumpf and McDonald were among 11 Mojave High School students charged in the Sept. 27 theft of Blu, the mascot for Centennial High.

The English bulldog was snatched from its owner's yard before the rivals' football game. The dog sustained serious injuries in the staged fight with Stumpf's dog, then was tied to a stake on the 50-yard line of Centennial's football field.

The bleeding Blu was found the next morning dressed in a Mojave T-shirt. The dog initially wasn't expected to survive but later recovered.

On Friday, Stumpf pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of injuring or abandoning an animal and was taken into custody to serve his two-day jail term. He also must complete 120 hours of community service and pay a $270 fine and restitution of $1,000.

McDonald pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of witnessing a fight between animals. He must perform 200 hours of community service and prepare a report on the causes and effects of animal abuse.

McDonald was a good student and the starting quarterback of the Mojave football team. Because of his involvement in the case, the senior attends an alternative school.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys negotiated the plea agreements, and Blu's owners backed the outcome.

The nine other Mojave students arrested in the case are all juveniles.

Four await sentencing Dec. 20 after pleading guilty Friday to felony charges stemming from the case. Five others are set to appear at a Family Court hearing this week.