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Man Caught on Tape Abusing Dog Sentenced to a Year in Prison on Another Charge

By DNAinfo Staff on January 14, 2010 5:23pm  | Updated on January 15, 2010 6:49am

Chris Grant was spotted by police kicking a dog in an elevator in a surveillance video.
Chris Grant was spotted by police kicking a dog in an elevator in a surveillance video.
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NYPD

By Shayna Jacobs

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

MANHATTAN CRIMINAL COURT — Accused dog abuser Chris Grant expected a light sentence on a trespassing charge Thursday, but the offer was scrapped when a judge realized that he was the man caught on video violently kicking his girlfriend's dog in a Harlem elevator.

Instead of the five days of community service prosecutors had arranged, Grant, 21, was sentenced to the maximum sentence of one year in prison for the crime. Grant had pleaded guilty to criminal trespassing in the second degree in April of 2009.

He was incarcerated immediately after the sentencing but was ordered back in court on March 8 to face animal torture and resisting arrest charges.

On Jan. 2., police said they caught Grant on videotaped security footage holding a small dog on a leash in an elevator at 3170 Broadway, a building that is part of the Grant Houses projects.

The man then kicked the animal like a soccer ball several times during the elevator's descent and then on the way back up to his girlfriend's apartment, surveillance video shows. He took breaks in between the beatings to pet the dog.

The 12-pound pooch, named "Chuvi-Duvi," was described in court documents as a poodle, but was earlier described by police as a Pomeranian-Chihuahua mix.

The animal was treated at the ASPCA and released in good condition, the agency said.

Grant was arrested two days later at his girlfriend's apartment. According to prosecutors, he made several efforts to resist arrest, continually pulling his hands away from the officers.

The purported canine assailant tried to run away from police and managed to wiggle out of his jacket when officers gripped his outerwear, the criminal complaint said.