A 36-year-old Carson City man who battered his ex-girlfriend and punched her pit bull before she fended him off with a shotgun blast was ordered Wednesday to continue anger counseling.
East Fork Justice Jim EnEarl sentenced Erik McCormick, 36, to 180 days in Douglas County Jail and suspended all but two days provided he violate no laws for a year.
He told McCormick he cannot consume alcohol or controlled substances and must continue anger management classes.
McCormick pleaded guilty to battery that constitutes domestic violence a day before he was set for trial on that charge and allegations of cruelty to animals and harassment.
The latter two charges were dismissed in exchange for the guilty plea.
"I ended up fighting my girlfriend. I ended up punching her," McCormick said. "We had been fighting every day and I let my emotions get in the way."
The 45-year-old victim, who attended the sentencing, asked that McCormick be subject to drug and alcohol counseling.
She said they met at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting.
"That may not be the best place to initiate a relationship," EnEarl said.
The woman said she was no longer dating McCormick and had no desire to resume the relationship.
The woman said her face was swollen for a couple weeks after the Dec. 6 incident when McCormick punched her, but she did not seek medical treatment.
"Then my dog got hurt," she said. "My little pit bull, my magnificent girl, she saved me."
According to reports, the couple had been fighting throughout the day and she demanded McCormick leave her residence in the 1200 block of Sandstone Drive in Topaz Ranch Estates.
She said he struck her in the head with a closed fist, chased her outside, threw her to the ground and pummeled her with his fists as he sat on her.
The victim's pit bull bit McCormick on the arm and thigh before he pinned the dog to the ground, struck it with his fists and threatened to kill the animal.
That's when the victim ran into the house and grabbed a 12-gauge shotgun that she fired in the ground in front of McCormick, injuring his leg.
"I realize when I drink, I let my emotions get in the way," McCormick said.
-- East Fork Judge Jim EnEarl set sentencing for March 3 for a Gardnerville Ranchos man who pleaded guilty Wednesday to battering the same victim a second time.
Ronald Troy Sullivan, 36, pleaded guilty to battery that causes domestic violence and resisting a public officer, stemming from a Jan. 13 incident at his home on James Road in the Gardnerville Ranchos.
EnEarl set out the sentencing date so the victim could attend.
Sullivan was on probation after he pleaded guilty last year to battering the same woman. With a prior conviction, his punishment will be enhanced.
The day of the incident, deputies were contacted by the victim who had fled to a home on Bluerock. They described her as hysterical and covered in blood. Her eyes were nearly swollen shut, her lips were swollen and she was covered in blood.
She was taken by helicopter to Renown Medical Center in Reno to assess her injuries.
Sullivan wrestled with deputies who were arresting him before an officer hog-tied him with a dog leash and he was carried to a patrol car where he continued to struggle.
He is being held in Douglas County Jail without bail.
-- Despite her argument that jail was stifling, East Fork Justice Jim EnEarl sentenced a 26-year-old Minden woman to six months in jail after she violated her probation by using methamphetamine.
"That's what happens when you use," EnEarl said over the objections of Crystal Lewis.
"Please, give me a second - I mean third - chance," Lewis said.
"That would be fourth," EnEarl replied.
"Oh, a fourth chance," she said. "I feel like a rotted corpse just waiting to whither away in there (jail). It's so stagnant. There's no fresh air."
EnEarl said he felt sympathy for the defendant's parents.
"They put you through rehab until you got thrown out for using alcohol. Your folks are going to attend a funeral very soon. It's going to be yours if you don't stop."
Lewis glared at EnEarl as deputies led her to jail.
"You don't think that 180 days is really going to do me any good, do you?" she asked.
"It's not about you," he said. "It's about this community. It's about your folks knowing where you are, that you are warm, that you are eating, that you are safe."
He told Lewis she could apply for drug rehabilitation near the end of her sentence.
