A woman who stole a family pet that was later dragged to death at Colorado National Monument pleaded guilty Friday to being an accessory after the fact to animal cruelty.
Melissa Marie Lockhart, 32, formerly of Fruita, faces a possible maximum of 18 months in prison during a sentencing hearing before U.S. District Judge Philip Brimmer on Sept. 17.
Lockhart entered the plea in federal district court and was released on bond pending the sentencing.
Lockhart is the sister of Steven Clay Romero, who has pleaded guilty to dragging the dog, Buddy, to death in the early hours of Dec. 30.
Investigators say Buddy, an adult German shepherd mix, was tied to a car and dragged 3 miles.
According to the plea agreement, Buddy and another dog owned by a Delta family were stolen by Lockhart from a Delta parking lot the morning before Buddy’s death.
Lockhart and Romero took the dogs to Lockhart’s home in Fruita, which is near Colorado National Monument, where Lockhart lived with her husband and children.
When the two dogs were stolen, they were healthy, clean and well-fed, said prosecutors.
According to the plea agreement, Lockhart and Romero left the home and when they returned, they found the remains of a kitten in Lockhart’s home.
Prosecutors said Romero blamed Buddy and took Buddy to Colorado National Monument, tied a rope around his neck and the other end to his pickup, and drove uphill.
Investigators said Buddy had to run on 2 inches of snow, around multiple switchbacks and sharp curves that gained more than 1,000 feet in elevation, before the animal collapsed and died.
Lockhart subsequently claimed on several occasions she had taken the dogs from an abandoned home.
Romero, who has pleaded guilty to a federal charge of aggravated animal cruelty, will be sentenced in July.
He faces up to three years in prison.
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com
