A 27-year-old man accused of impaling his ex-girlfriend's pet fish with a knife faces allegations of first-degree aggravated animal abuse, fourth-degree assault and coercion.

Donald Earl Fite III was in court Monday stemming from a domestic assault at his ex-girlfriend's Portland apartment on Saturday. The animal abuse charge carries a maximum of five years in prison and $125,000 fine.According to court documents, the victim told police the couple had recently separated, but Fite showed up and kept talking about wanting to get back together.

The victim said she told Fite she had plans that night, and they didn't include him. He became angry and violent, shoving her against the bathroom wall, and grabbed her hair and threw her into the bathtub, according to the court affidavit.

The victim was able to flee her apartment and called 9-1-1. When she returned, she found her fish in the middle of the floor with a knife through it.

Fite admitted to police after his arrest that he killed the fish, and that it was a stupid thing to do. According to a court affidavit, Fite told an officer, "If she can't have me, then she can't have the fish."

Fite, who is being held at the Multnomah County Detention Center, is due back in court Aug. 4.

-- Maxine Bernstein; maxinebernstein@news.oregonian.com