Reno man gets 28 years in dog torture case

Correction: Text has been changed to reflect when Jason Brown will be eligible for parole. It was originally reported as 19 months instead of 133 months.

A 25-year-old former Reno High School student president and psychology major, was sentenced Thursday to 28 years in prison after he was convicted of torturing, dismembering and killing seven dogs last year in two local hotel and motel rooms.

Jason Brown, of Reno, pleaded no contest to the seven counts in June and claimed he had no recollection of his actions because of a longtime drug addiction. On Thursday, Washoe County District Judge Elliot Sattler sentenced Brown to a maximum of 48 months per count to be served consecutively – totaling 28 years in prison. He would also be eligible for parole after serving 133 months, or around 11 years.

Brown had an opportunity to speak just before he was sentenced. He stood up, took a deep breath and began reading his speech. He told Sattler that he was sorry for his acts.

“I lost all my opportunities and the best years of my life through my drug addiction,” Brown said. “I used until I forgot about life. I used until I lost all comprehension of everything around me.

“I forgot life was possible without drugs, but it’s too late because I no longer have control of myself,” he said.

“What I know is that this is not who am, and these actions will never define me as a person.”

Washoe County District Deputy Attorney Derek Dreiling, Brown’s attorney, John Oakes, and Sattler all agreed the case was the worst they’ve seen in their years of legal service.

The court reviewed several video recordings that local law enforcement officers obtained among Brown’s possessions found during their investigations last year. Although the videos weren’t shown to the public, the sounds of the acts on the videos were clearly heard. That included constant chopping sounds and one loud dog squeal that echoed throughout the small courtroom.

‘I was shocked and appalled’

The images caused Sattler to furrow his brow, frown and at times close his eyes and grab at his chin as he watched the videos. Several attendees, some dog owners and animal activists, silently cried.

“As I’m sitting here watching this video, I was shocked and appalled,” Sattler told Brown on Thursday just before he was sentenced. “Those are the only two words I can use to describe how I felt when I watched it.”

Sattler said when he first was told to watch the videos, he felt it wasn’t necessary.

“Now that I’ve seen it, I understand why it was important to show it to me, and it was important to make it part of the record in your case,” Sattler said in court. “So if anybody looks at this case in the future, they see exactly what you did.

“That video, those four clips, just completely drive home how barbaric you were behaving toward these dogs,” he said, adding that Brown’s case wasn’t comparable to a murder.

“All I can think of it as is like child pornography,” he said. “That’s what it is.”

The images are things that you never unsee, Sattler said. He told Brown he was victimizing an innocent being, who had no ability to resist.

“Frankly, Mr. Brown, it was appalling,” Sattler said. “That’s all I can tell you. It was appalling.”

A little too late for help

Brown had asked for rehabilitation, adding he didn’t want to hurt anything again. Brown told the court he grew up hunting, and that it was something he loved to do.

“I grew up with a dog, and he was one of the most important things in my life,” Brown said as his voice began to crack. “He was my hunting partner and best friend, and when I lost that, it was the hardest thing in my life.”

Brown said he wanted a new, small dog. He said in his normal mindset, he would never have mistreated animals, adding he had respect for them. He told the court he had a long road ahead, but was willing to do what it takes to find help.

“It hit me so hard to home that drugs took me to this place, and that I acted this way,” he said. “It’s sickening to hear those things and realize it was me.”

But Sattler said Brown had several opportunities to seek help. Brown’s parents spent more than $100,000 to find help for their son – something Sattler said Brown threw away.

“You have had blessings in your life beyond those which I would suggest 98 percent of us have had the opportunity to have,” Sattler said. “From what I understand, you come from a wealthy family, and you’re adopted. So somebody actually reached out and took you into their home, and it was a great home.”

“There is not a shred of doubt in my mind that you have a long-standing and horrific substance-abuse problem,” Sattler later said. “But I don’t think that’s a reason that I should give you any type of leniency in this case.”

Oakes, Brown’s attorney, said the sentence his client was facing was stiffer than he could have gotten for killing a human being in a case of manslaughter.

"I can't make sense of something that makes no sense," Oakes said. "The kid was not in his right mind."

Sattler read from a mental health evaluation submitted earlier this year to the court on Thursday, which suggested Brown had psychopathic traits. Still, Brown didn’t fully meet the criteria for psychopathy, according to the evaluation.

“Even now after all this time, after having been in jail for over a year, we’re still not quite sure what to make of you, whether or not you’re a psychopath or not,” Sattler told Brown.

Sattler also questioned the possibility that Brown’s actions could progress toward people. Still, that doesn’t mean it will, he said.

“But that doesn’t mean it’s not something I shouldn’t be profoundly concerned about,” Sattler said.

Sattler said he believed Brown was cognizant of his actions based on his searches on Craigslist for adoptable pets. He said that the search took thought and planning.

Witnesses speak out

Angela Lopez said she was selling Chihuahua mixed puppies for $40 each on Craigslist, when she was contacted by Brown in July of last year.

“I wanted to get a feel for who he was and who I was selling the puppies to so I would know they would find a good home,” Lopez said.

“He seemed like a normal college kid,” she said when asked to describe his demeanor. “Nothing out of the ordinary.

“He was dressed very clean-cut and neat.”

Charles Frank, of Sun Valley, was also contacted by Brown. Frank said he gave puppies to his grandchildren, who later returned them after moving.

“(Brown) said his mother just retired and he was going to give them to his mother,” Frank said. “We told him that if he couldn’t keep it, to bring it back.”

“He seemed like a nice, clean-cut kid, and he talked about going back to college,” he said. “We told him he should.”

Daniel Preston, 25, went to school with Brown and said he was contacted by him on Facebook last year. Preston said that in the chat, Brown admitted to a drug problem and felt a need to torture a Chihuahua.

“I had seen stories circulating on Facebook, and I felt very strongly about the information I had,” Preston said. “So I felt I needed to share it.”

“(At the time) it was one of those things you kind of shrug off or laugh off as a weird sense of humor,” he said.

Washoe County District Attorney Chris Hicks said prosecutors sought the stiffest sentencing they could when they heard about the case. Hicks said Sattler’s decision was “exactly right” and that it would send a message that these cases would be prosecuted swiftly and handled severely.

“This case is the worst animal-cruelty torture case we’ve ever seen in Washoe County, and probably in the state of Nevada,” he said.

Marcella Corona covers breaking news for the Reno Gazette-Journal. Contact her at 775-788-6340, mcorona@rgj.com or follow her on Twitter at @Marcella_Anahi or on Facebook at Facebook.com/Marcella.Anahi.