TAUNTON, Mass. (AP) — A Massachusetts man has been sent to jail for six months for using a machete to attack a woman and her dog.
The Taunton Daily Gazette reports that 45-year-old Thomas Vargas was sentenced this week after pleading guilty to assault and animal cruelty.
Investigators say Vargas hit the woman in the leg while trying to attack the dog last year in Taunton. The dog was stabbed twice but survived.
Witnesses say the dog was leashed prior to the attack and did not provoke Vargas.
Prosecutors had asked for a sentence of more than three years in prison, noting that Vargas has multiple previous convictions for assault.
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