Probation given in case of attempted hit on dog

Tuesday, May 25, 2004 | 8:54 a.m.

A man accused of being part of a murder-for-hire plot to kill a Rottweiler in a Summerlin neighborhood was sentenced to three years' probation on Monday.

Melvin Gilchrist, 26, received a suspended sentence of 13 to 32 months for the reduced charge of resisting a public officer. He was originally charged with two counts of conspiracy to maim, poison or kill another person's animal, one count of assault of a police officer with a deadly weapon and one count of resisting a police officer.

Authorities said Gilchrist was hired by Ryan Schiestel, 25, on Dec. 5 to kill or harm the dog, which had killed an Italian greyhound in the same neighborhood a day earlier.

Although the Parole and Probation Department recommended two years' probation for Gilchrist, District Judge Jennifer Togliatti granted Chief Deputy District Attorney Brian Rutledge's request for three years.

Gilchrist's attorney, Betsy Allen, said the Department of Parole and Probation's recommendation would have been a better demonstration of the "punishment fitting the crime."

"Generally I think the whole case was ridiculous and over prosecuted," Allen said.

Both men allegedly confessed to their roles in the crime, according to the court record. Police said Schiestel told them he hired Gilchrist, whom he met earlier that day, to go to the house in the 1800 block of Glen View Drive in Summerlin to harm the dog.

Gilchrist corroborated Schiestel's story, telling police that Schiestel offered to buy him an airplane ticket if he would go with him to a house and "beat up" a dog.

The plan fell apart, however, when police apprehended Gilchrist in the back yard of the home. A police officer shot Gilchrist in the thigh when he allegedly charged at the officer with a baseball bat and a butcher knife. Gilchrist has since recovered, and the dog was never hurt.

Schiestel denied knowing the family who owns the greyhound and the family denied knowing Schiestel, Rutledge said.

Schiestel has pleaded guilty to a single count of attempting to kill an animal belonging to another person.