Animal abuser headed back to jail in Northeast Ohio
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CLEVELAND (WJW) — A man jailed for torturing and killing his girlfriend’s puppy has received another jail sentence for violating his probation.
Phillip E. Savelli, 37, of Mentor, repeatedly submerged a 10-month-old Yorkie named Coco in water then put the dog in a freezer until it died, a humane worker said.
It happened June 3, 2021, in Highland Heights, FOX 8 News previously reported.
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Judge Michael Shaughnessy called it “unconscionable and shocking,” FOX 8 News reported.
He sentenced Savelli to 60 days in jail, along with three years of community control. Were Savelli to violate conditions of his supervision, “a 12-month prison term will be imposed” on his three felony counts of cruelty to companion animals, reads the February 2022 judgment entry.
He was also prohibited from owning or caring for companion animals indefinitely.
Savelli this week went back to court, after leaving the state without permission while still under supervision, a spokesperson for the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office confirmed.
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Judge Shaughnessy on Wednesday, May 15, found Savelli in violation of his probation and sentenced him to another 60 days in jail. If he violates supervision, he could face up to three years in prison, this latest filing states.
Prosecutors also raised “concerns” about Savelli living with someone who owns dogs, given his previous prohibition against caring for companion animals, according to the spokesperson.
Goddard’s Law, enacted in Ohio in 2016 and named after the late FOX 8 meteorologist Dick Goddard, made it a fifth-degree felony to cause “serious physical harm” to a companion animal.
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