A 24-year-old man was sentenced to prison and banned from owning pets for a decade after he pleaded no contest today to throwing a boy’s assistance dog from a balcony in North Long Beach, according to the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office.

Jose Yvani Herrera pleaded no contest at today’s court appearance to a felony count of cruelty to an animal and, additionally, admitted that he was previously convicted of second-degree robbery in 2015.

The defendant was sentenced to three years and eight months in state prison and barred from owning, possessing, residing with or caring for any animal for 10 years.

Herrera was living with his ex-girlfriend in a home she shared with her mother, 41, and 10-year-old special needs brother, according to Deputy District Attorney Paul Guthrie who prosecuted the case.

On May 7, Long Beach police responded to a call for help in the 200 block of Artesia Boulevard in North Long Beach, Guthrie said.

The mother had told arriving officers that Herrera picked up her son’s assistance dog, a 1-year-old Chihuahua named Pearl, and hurled the animal from a balcony, according to the prosecutor.

“Officers observed Pearl, who had significant injuries to her eye, and arrested Herrera in connection with the incident,” the prosecutor said in a statement.

The violent assault resulted in the dog requiring special medical care that the family could not provide, leading Long Beach Animal Care Services to secure the animal where she is currently recovering from her injuries, Guthrie said.

According to David Linn, field operations supervisor for ACS, the shelter is trying to “work out getting the dog back to the owners.”

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