Florida man gets prison time after shooting his dog in the face

Jamier Lee-Bright, 26, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison after shooting a dog in the face. (Courtesy of the Flagler County Sheriff's Office)

A Florida man was sentenced to prison time for shooting a dog in the face last year. 

Jamier Lee-Bright, 26, was sentenced to 18 months in the Florida Department of Corrections, plus an additional 42 months of probation. 

Lee-Bright is now on the animal abuse registry, is required to have no contact with any animals, has to complete a mental health evaluation and any recommended treatment, plus had to surrender his gun to the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office. 

Lee-Bright was arrested last year after he allegedly shot his young dog in the face.

Deputies arrived at his house due to several 911 calls made by neighbors saying they heard "dogs barking, crying, and a gun shot". 

Deputies noted that his mannerisms were "concerning" as they noticed he was sweating excessively, and had fresh blood smeared on his face. Deputies also noticed a small hole dug in the backyard, and saw Lee-Bright hosing down the lanai.

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After initially denying hearing or seeing anything, Lee-Bright admitted to detectives that he was woken up by a family-member screaming because the dog bit them. 

Lee-Bright then took action against the dog, shooting him in the face. 

After the confession detectives entered the house and took Rocky to the Flagler Animal Hospital, where he made a full recovery. 

Since then Rocky was adopted by Hayden Ore, a crime analyst in the Flagler County Sheriff's Office's Real Time Crime Center. Ore was working the day Rocky was shot and became invested in his story.

After seeing pictures of him and witnessing his story, Ore fell in love with Rocky and fostered him right after he got out of the hospital. 

Five weeks later Ore was able to officially adopt Rocky and have him as a permanent addition to the family. 

"I’m glad to see this innocent animal is recovering and thriving," Sheriff Rick Staly said. "This poor animal has had a rough start to life, suffering abuse no animal should go through. His story touched the hearts of many in the community, and I’m thrilled to see his progress. Thank you to all the personnel involved in his rescue and to our employee for giving him the second chance he deserves".