A Lehigh Acres man arrested in an animal cruelty case Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno called “bone-chilling” and “heartbreaking” changed his plea and learned his fate this week.
Anthony Bellman, 55, on Monday pleaded guilty to two counts of third-degree animal cruelty and one count of first-degree animal cruelty before Lee Circuit Judge Bruce Kyle, but he will not learn his fate until his Oct. 24 sentencing.
The third-degree felonies carry a five-year maximum sentence, while the first-degree charge carries a maximum one-year sentence, according to the plea agreement.
Bellman was arrested last December in the abuse of a 16-year-old mostly blind Shih Tzu named Xyla.
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According to the sheriff’s office, employees at the Lehigh Acres Family Dollar on Joel Boulevard investigated Thursday after they saw a man in a blue Hyundai put a bag in a commercial trash receptacle and discovered the bag moving.