DILLON — A tipster has received the $2,500 reward PETA offered last fall after someone broke into a Dillon woman’s house, put her small dog in the oven, propped a chair against the oven door and cooked the dog alive.
Teofilo Falaniko Jr., 21, was sentenced to 11 years in prison and three-and-a-half-years probation after pleading guilty to two counts of second-degree burglary and one count of unlawful treatment to animals.
Falaniko was originally charged with first-degree burglary, second-degree burglary and animal cruelty in connection with the crime, which happened Oct. 22, according to Dillon police reports.
Police said Falaniko already was in jail on two other burglary charges when he was charged in this case.
They said Falaniko told them the dog bit him, which is why he placed in the oven during the burglary.
The tipster, whose identity is being withheld, overheard Falaniko bragging about his crime and contacted authorities.
Falaniko admitted to ransacking Bonnie Bowens’ Owens Street residence while she was at church, putting her pug, Penny, inside the oven, turning it on and propping a chair against the oven door so she couldn’t escape.
When Bowens got home that night, she noticed her front door kicked in. She did not go inside the home; instead, she called police. When they arrived, they say they found her house broken into and vandalized, and noticed the chair propped against her oven door. When they opened the door, they found Penny dead.
Bowens said she’d only had Penny for about two-and-a-half months before she died. Penny was her first pet, and Bowens said she loved her like a child.
“Mental health professionals know that those who commit violent and sadistic acts against animals are often trying to communicate their rage at society by attacking truly vulnerable victims,” PETA Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch said in a press release announcing the reward. “An act of such incredible cruelty sends a shock wave through the whole community.”
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