A teenager has been sentenced to 25 years in prison after going on a crime spree that involved robbery, kidnapping, and the shooting of a K-9.
19-year-old Jhamel Malik Paskel was just 17 when he fatally shot a police dog that was chasing him in an attempt to avoid being arrested for his crimes.
Now, the Florida teenager, who was tried as an adult, has been handed down a 25-year prison sentence.
Besides being sentenced to five years in prison for killing a K-9, Paskel added 20 years to his sentence for his other charges including the kidnapping of two women, carjacking, armed robbery, possession of a gun by a juvenile delinquent, and aggravated fleeing.
“I would like to offer my apologies and condolences to Officer Herrera for not only the killing of his K-9 partner Fang, but his best friend,” the 19-year-old said during a court hearing last week.
As the teenager insisted, he is “ready to take responsibility for the mistakes I made as a child.”
“I want to apologize to the victims for scaring them that night. And I owe my mother the biggest apology for letting her down,” Paskel added.
Following days after the court hearing, the 19-year-old attended his virtual sentencing via Zoom. Attending the sentencing was also Paskel’s mother who previously pleaded with the judge for a lenient sentence due to her son’s drug addiction and learning problems.
The teenager’s crime spree began on September 30 when he carjacked a Chevrolet Cruze at a gas station at Lem Turner Rd in Jacksonville, Florida.
The then-17-year-old reportedly pointed his gun at the driver, a 25-year-old woman, before ordering her to drive away while another passenger was seated at the back.
Eventually, Paskel kicked the two women out of the car and proceeded east.
Following a high-speed Interstate 295 chase, the teen fled into the woods, prompting officer Matt Herrera to send his K-9, a 3-year-old dog named Fang, after the suspect. Before Paskel was apprehended by the police, he fatally shot officer Herrera’s dog.
“He’s still a member of my family and it wasn’t just sad for me or the department,” the officer previously said of his companion’s passing.
“It was my wife, kids and parents … to go back and see that empty kennel in the backyard and know that there is no dog there, and to see the bloodstains in the truck that I had to clean up after he was killed.”
Replaced!