BOARDMAN Man sentenced in dog killing

The man's house arrest began Tuesday, and he'll report to jail in January.
By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
BOARDMAN -- Township resident James Terranova, 25, will spend the remainder of the month confined to his Shadyside Drive home -- without the company of the gun he used to shoot a neighbor's dog in April.
Terranova was charged with misdemeanor cruelty to animals in the death of the dog and with discharging a firearm across a highway. He pleaded innocent in Boardman area court in April, but changed that plea to no contest and was found guilty.
For shooting the dog, Terranova was sentenced recently to 90 days in jail with 60 days suspended and the remaining 30 days to be served on house arrest. He was also fined $250 and made to make restitution to the dog's owner.
For firing across a highway, Terranova was fined another $250, placed on one year of probation and sentenced to 180 days in jail with 170 days suspended. He is to report to Mahoning County Jail on Jan. 2 to serve the remaining 10 days. He must also hand the rifle used to shoot the dog over to police.
What happened
Police say Terranova shot and killed the 1-year-old German shepherd-husky mix named Sinatra from a second-story bedroom window of his home while the animal stood on the sidewalk across the street.
Terranova told officers the dog had been a threat to his children, but police said there is no report to indicate Sinatra had threatened anyone.
After the shooting, Terranova retrieved the dog's body and discarded it in a trash bin along South Avenue. Humane officers and police later retrieved Sinatra from the bin.
Sinatra's owner, Cathleen Ford, said the dog had managed to crawl beneath a fence in the back yard to get loose. She said she and her fianc & eacute; were out looking for the dog when the dog was shot and killed.
Gun concerns
After the shooting, residents, police officials and trustees wanted stiffer charges in relation to the use of the gun. Trustees had looked at whether anything could be done, because Boardman is considered an urban township with home rule and 15,000 or more residents.
But townships, even those under home rule such as Boardman, are not permitted to enact ordinances dealing with the possession, use or sale of firearms. Those regulations are governed by state law.
jgoodwin@vindy.com