WUSA-TV, Washington

ROCKVILLE, Md. — A police officer accused of killing his girlfriend's puppy pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of aggravated animal cruelty.

Alec E. Taylor, 28, of Hyattsville, Md., a five-year veteran of the Baltimore Police Department, pleaded guilty to the felony charge after a February incident in nearby Silver Spring, Md., according to the Office of the State's Attorney for Montgomery County.

A woman reported that her live-in boyfriend, Taylor, had beaten and killed her 7-month-old Jack Russell terrier named Rocko.

Taylor had texted the woman while she was at work to say that he had almost killed the puppy after it had an accident on the carpet, according to charging documents. He then sent her a photo of "an apparently lifeless Rocko lying on the carpet" and said that he had beaten Rocko and possibly paralyzed him.

He texted his girlfriend that he was going to throw the puppy out.

The woman then asked Taylor if what she saw was a sick joke. Taylor responded that he got tired of cleaning up after the dog and beat the puppy until a mop broke then placed the dog's body in a Dumpster in the parking lot, the charging documents said.

Taylor's girlfriend asked Taylor to retrieve Rocko's body so she could bury him. Taylor then texted her that he had put the body in a shoe box on their balcony. When his girlfriend returned home, that's where she found the lifeless animal.

During an interview with police, Taylor admitted that he had used a mop to force Rocko out from behind a clothes dryer and then choked the dog until he was dead. He was charged in March.

It is unclear whether Taylor had resigned from the city police department before his guilty plea. He had been suspended without pay and previously said he would resign before pleading guilty to the felony to preserve future pension claims.

Taylor will be sentenced Oct. 8. He faces up to three years in prison and a $5,000 fine.