Haniyyah Barnes will spend the next four years in prison for throwing her neighbor’s dog into traffic during a heated argument over a parking space.
The 29-year-old Newark, New Jersey resident was also ordered to pay her neighbor $2,000 in restitution and perform 30 days of community service at an organization for the prevention of cruelty to animals.
Barnes was charged with killing her neighbor’s 2-year-old Shih Tzu during a verbal dispute over a parking space in August 2011.
She reportedly kicked in her neighbor’s door and grabbed the dog because it started barking. Barnes took the dog outside and threw her into traffic, where she was run over and killed.
The Essex County jury declined to find Barnes guilty of the lesser offense of animal cruelty, which carries no prison time.
The jury could not reach a verdict of burglary (taking the dog). She will be retried on the burglary charge at a later date.
The case drew comparisons to the Romechia Simms case. Simms is the 25-year-old Maryland mother who was spared prison after pushing her 3-year-old son on a swing for 2 days until he died.
