2 Students Sentenced in Mascot Case

LAS VEGAS (AP) â€” Two high school students have been sentenced for their roles in the theft and torture of a rival high school's canine mascot. <br><br>Douglas Stumpf and Richard McDonald, both 18,

Monday, December 4th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

LAS VEGAS (AP) â€” Two high school students have been sentenced for their roles in the theft and torture of a rival high school's canine mascot.

Douglas Stumpf and Richard McDonald, both 18, were ordered Friday to perform community service at an animal shelter and write letters of apology to the dog's owner. Stumpf, whose pit bull mauled the mascot during a staged fight, also was sentenced to two days in jail and 60 days of house arrest.

``We think we've done justice,'' said Clark County Chief Deputy District Attorney Ronald Bloxham.

Stumpf and McDonald were among 11 Mojave High School students charged in the Sept. 27 theft of Blu, an English bulldog mascot for rival Centennial High.

The bulldog, snatched from its owner's yard before a football game between the schools, was found the next morning wrapped in a Mojave t-shirt and tied to a stake on the 50-yard line of Centennial's football field. The dog was bleeding from the staged fight and initially wasn't expected to survive.

Stumpf pleaded guilty Friday to a misdemeanor charge of injuring or abandoning an animal and was taken into custody to serve his two-day jail term. He also must complete 120 hours of community service and pay $1,000 restitution.

McDonald, who pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of witnessing a fight between animals, must perform 200 hours of community service and write a report on the causes and effects of animal abuse.

The nine other Mojave students arrested in the case are juveniles. Four await sentencing Dec. 20 after pleading guilty Friday to felony charges; the others are to appear in Family Court this week.