Palafox pleads guilty to aggravated animal cruelty

The Troy man accused of abusing a dog and then intimidating his neighbors in an attempt to cover it up changed his plea in Lincoln County District Court last week.

Domingo J. Palafox, 30, pleaded guilty to a single count of aggravated animal cruelty. He requested bench trials for two subsequent counts of tampering with a witness. Palafox initially pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Authorities arrested Palafox after a lengthy investigation sparked when a badly treated Alaskan malamute, since named Percy, crawled up onto a porch in Troy in early March. Local animal lovers contacted authorities and quickly took the malnourished hound to a veterinarian.

It was initially thought that Percy suffered from frostbite, but upon closer inspection his injuries looked like burns. Juli Hopfer, who runs Pet Connection Rescue and Sanctuary and helped to find Percy a new home, said authorities soon suspected that an individual had doused the animal in a flammable fluid and ignited it.

While animal activists involved in the case came quickly to believe Palafox had committed the act, investigators with the Troy Police Department had to wait until evidence turned up. The case remained open and under investigation as donors raised a more than $3,500 reward for information leading to an arrest and led a march to increase awareness in the Troy and Libby communities.

Troy Police Chief Katie Davis, who oversaw the investigation, got a break in the case in June when Palafox allegedly got into an argument with another man at a local gas station. The argument, according to court documents, was over a video that allegedly captured Palafox lighting the animal afire. Palafox had warned the other man and his brother against discussing the video with investigators, court documents said.

The two men agreed to talk with police after Palafox allegedly threatened to take out a $10,000 bounty on them.

The pair described the video, saying it showed Palafox dumping about 1.5 gallons of gasoline on the malamute, which he had tied up. He allegedly lit the dog on fire and filmed as the blaze burnt through the rope and Percy ran off.

The brothers told police that Palafox believed the animal had died. While his face was not visible on the film, Palafox’s tattoos were captured by the footage, they said.

Davis arrested Palafox on June 22. He made his initial appearance in Lincoln County on June 23. Authorities held him on a $250,000 bond.

In the meantime, Percy recuperated from his injuries and subsequent surgeries. Hopfer found a new home for him in Canada. She occasionally posts photographs of him, looking happy and healthy, on her organization’s Facebook page.

A sentencing hearing for the aggravated animal cruelty charge is scheduled for Dec. 21. Dates for the bench trial were not immediately available.

Aggravated animal cruelty, a felony, is punishable by up to two years in state prison and a fine of $2,500. The tampering charges carry a possible sentence of 10 years behind bars and a $50,000 fine.