Nebraska: Desiree Deherrera, 25, starting stabbing a German Shepherd for no reason. When it ran to get away from her, it was hit by a car and had to be put down.

NEBRASKA -- A Kearney woman has been convicted of stabbing a dog and assaulting two people in February 2016.

Desiree A. Deherrera, 25, pleaded no contest earlier this week in Buffalo County District Court to felony strangulation and terroristic threats, and to misdemeanors of cruelly mistreating an animal and two counts of third-degree assault in the incident.

A no-contest plea is neither an admittance nor denial of guilt, but the plea is treated the same as a guilty plea.

Judge Bill Wright accepted her plea and ordered the state probation department to conduct a pre-sentence investigation report, including a substance abuse evaluation. Those reports detail defendants’ background, including their family and criminal history, employment, and psychological and chemical dependency. The report will be provided to Wright to help him issue an appropriate sentence.

Sentencing will be in May.

According to Kearney Police, at about 7:50 p.m. Feb. 10, 2016, Kearney Police Department officers were called to a home in the 1000 block of Avenue E because of an argument between two women and a man.

Desiree Deherrera went to the home Robert Lester in an attempt to take her 5-year-old son away.

Police say Lester’s daughter, Kristen, and grandson were also in the home.

Lester told police that Deherrera, who was under the influence of methamphetamine, argued with his daughter and eventually began strangling her.

Police say the Kristen was able to escape and lock herself in a bathroom with the child.

When officers arrived, the man approached them and said, “She is killing my dog,” court records say.

The officer said Deherrera was on the ground on top of a dog, and there was blood all over the floor. One witness told officers she argued with Deherrera and, records say, Deherrera choked her.

Deherrera then started attacking the dog, “due to it being the devil.” The man tried to stop the attack, records say, and Deherrera attacked him and bit him on both arms, which broke the skin and caused severe bleeding.

The dog, named Kong, a German Shepherd mix, fled the house into the street where he was hit by a passing vehicle. The dog was bleeding from the chest, mouth and nose, records say, and police humanely euthanized him at the scene.

Deherrera was transported to CHI Health Good Samaritan for medical clearance and was later arrested. Throughout the court proceedings she waived her right to a speedy trial, and attended inpatient treatment and a halfway house.

If she isn’t placed on probation, Deherrera faces up to eight years in prison. She remains free on bond.

(Kearney Hub - March 11, 2017)