At the outset of Ebony Jones' trial on animal cruelty charges on Tuesday, prosecutors got right to the point.
"Hold the defendant responsible for the death of Duke, his partner, and find him guilty of animal cruelty," Jessica Frazier urged the jury during her opening argument.
According to the two-count indictment in the case, Jones, who has since been terminated from his position as a canine officer with the Bexar County Sheriff's Office, caused the death of his K-9 partner, a yellow lab named Duke.
It alleges that Jones "intentionally, knowingly or recklessly" placed Duke in circumstances that resulted in heat stroke and ultimately caused his death.
"Ebony did nothing to cause the dog to die," defense attorney Mark Stevens told the jury.
Jones had left the dog in his patrol car on the afternoon of June 16, 2010, while he went into his office to pick up paperwork, according to prosecutors.
"They found his body temperature to be 107.5 nearly two hours after his death," Frazier said.
Stevens insisted the dog's death was a tragedy that left his client "devastated and crying uncontrollably" and was not a case of intentional animal cruelty.
If his is found guilty, Jones is facing a punishment range of from six months to two years in state jail.
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