A Tarrant County jury sentenced a convicted puppy torturer to five years in prison Friday.
Deric Berquist was charged with Animal Cruelty – Torture after he beat an 11-week-old German shepherd puppy multiple times, which was on his home security system. The security system also showed him hitting his then-girlfriend.
The puppy belonged to his then-live-in girlfriend. She turned him in to the police.
Witness statements included Berquist’s family who told stories of him strangling and lighting a squirrel on fire as a child. Testimonies also said that he was violent with former girlfriends.
“This kind of man that can prey on small animals is a different kind of evil,” said prosecutor David Alex. “The level of torture shown in this video is the kind of thing people don’t want to believe really happens.”
