A Ronks man who shot and killed a horse pulling a family of five in a buggy — and committed several other crimes — was sentenced to 1 to 2 years in prison followed by probation.

"What the hell were you doing in all this?" Lancaster County Judge David Ashworth asked Timothy Antonio Diggs Jr. on Monday, noting Diggs had no prior criminal record.

Diggs, 21, said he knew what he was doing was wrong, but "wasn't under the right influence at the time" because he was abusing cough medicine.

"There is not a rational explanation for your behavior," Ashworth said. "You've got a weapon and you're shooting horses ... Why should I believe you're no harm to the community?"

Diggs spoke little, but said he believed in second chances, apologized and said he would take it back if he could.

According to testimony at Diggs' March preliminary hearing, Diggs was a passenger in his own car when the horse was shot last Nov. 24 in East Lampeter Township.

Horse owner Levi Lapp was driving his buggy about 9 p.m. on North Ronks Road when a car passed them from behind. In the buggy were his wife, holding their baby, and their children, aged 7, 9, and 12.

Lapp testified he heard a noise like a firecracker, but didn't think much of it. The horse startled, but Lapp was able to control it and get to his home about a mile away.

At home, Lapp noticed blood and a hole in the horse’s lower left side. A veterinarian was called, but the horse died before the vet arrived.

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After developing Diggs as a suspect in the horse shooting, police searched his home Dec. 2. They discovered two rifles and a motorcycle stolen in two separate burglaries in East Lampeter Township and Upper Leacock Township.

Ashworth made clear Diggs was getting a chance, even though the sentence fell in the aggravated range of state guidelines.

The sentence, Ashworth said, was as long as he could impose while still keeping Diggs in county prison instead of state prison.

If Diggs ends up back in court for misbehavior, Ashworth told him, "I'll put you in jail for as long as I can."

Besides the county prison term, Diggs will be on probation for four years for the crimes he pleaded guilty to. He must pay more than $3,000 restitution, attend anger management classes and undergo drug and alcohol treatment.

Restitution isn't for the horse, because Lapp didn't want it, prosecutor Christine Wilson said.

In all, Diggs pleaded guilty to one count of cruelty to animals, five counts of reckless endangerment and one count of propulsion of missiles in the horse shooting case.

Diggs also pleaded guilty in separate cases to four counts of receiving stolen property, one count of reckless endangerment — for shooting a rifle close to residences near his home — and one count of altering or destructing a vehicle identification number for grinding the number off the motorcycle.

Diggs said he wants to get his GED diploma and go to trade school to become a mechanic.