Man who stabbed two San Diego police dogs in Midway District incidents gets nine-year prison sentence

A man who stabbed two San Diego police dogs in separate incidents within a year in the Midway District was sentenced June 8 to nine years in state prison.

Dedrick Jones, 37, pleaded guilty in April 2021 to stabbing police dog Titan on Jan. 25 that year and was sentenced to one year in jail, plus probation. After his release from jail and while on probation for Titan’s stabbing, Jones stabbed police dog Hondo on Dec. 17, 2021.

In both cases, Jones was in a standoff with San Diego police when officers released a dog, which Jones then stabbed.

Both dogs survived the attacks, though Titan has since died, according to San Diego County Deputy District Attorney Clay Biddle. The prosecutor said Titan’s death, which reportedly occurred last December, was “not directly related” to the stabbing but that it has not been ruled out as a contributing factor.

During his trial in Hondo’s stabbing, Jones was convicted of brandishing a knife, but jurors did not reach verdicts on several other counts. Jones later pleaded guilty to those charges, which included animal cruelty, injury to a peace officer animal and resisting arrest.

Defense attorney Denis Lainez asked Superior Court Judge Dwayne Moring for a sentence of seven years, citing Jones’ troubled upbringing, which he said causes him to react incorrectly in panic situations.

Lainez also said the police call that resulted in Hondo’s stabbing was based on a false report that Jones had vandalized a car.

“Mr. Jones had done absolutely nothing wrong, and because of who he was or because of his circumstances, he was completely not believed,” Lainez said.

Biddle argued for a sentence of just over 12 years in prison, telling the judge that Jones has a “long and violent criminal history” that includes punching a police officer in the face in Florida in 2012.

According to San Diego police, Jones was armed with two knives during the January 2021 standoff that began on Barnett Avenue and led to Titan’s stabbing. Titan received about 100 stitches and had part of his colon removed as a result.

The second stabbing happened on Riley Street. Police said Jones was swinging a knife and climbed onto a parked car, then approached officers while holding the blade.

Hondo was stabbed at least twice in the chest before officers were able to take Jones into custody. The dog returned to duty a few weeks later, police said.

— Point Loma-OB Monthly staff contributed to this report.