YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) — A man who pleaded guilty last month to charges he shot and killed a dog was sentenced Wednesday in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court to two years in prison.

George Panno, 29, received the sentence from Judge Anthony Donofrio on a charge of cruelty to companion animals, a fifth degree felony as well as a firearm specification.

He received a one-year sentence on the felony, the maximum that can be handed down, as well as one year for the firearm specification.

He is also banned from owning a companion animal for five years.

Panno entered his guilty plea in the middle of a trial that was underway in his case.

Panno was accused of taking his girlfriend’s dog April 8, 2022, to a wooded area in North Jackson, taking the dog in the woods and shooting the dog three times. His defense attorney claimed at trial that the dog had a history of aggressive behavior, including attacking children.