Guilty plea from man who stabbed police dog

A man who stabbed a San Diego police dog during an altercation with officers in the Midway District pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges of animal cruelty and resisting arrest.

Dedrick Daknell Jones, 35, is slated to be sentenced May 11 for stabbing the dog, named Titan, on Jan. 25 after an hours-long standoff with police.

The dog was treated for wounds to his side. Titan had 6 to 8 inches of his colon surgically removed and received more than 100 stitches.

Police said officers were originally called for a report of a man trespassing at a business on Barnett Avenue near Midway Drive southwest of Interstate 5.

Jones refused to give the officers his information and kept reaching for his bag, according to police.

When officers tried to put him in handcuffs, Jones punched the officers and ran into a nearby military property, where he stood on a shipping container waving a knife, police said.

About four hours later, negotiators persuaded him to come down from the container, but Jones “refused to put the knife down,” the department said in a tweet.

“The officer released his K9 partner, Titan, to assist and the suspect stabbed him,” police said.

Officers then ran in and took Jones into custody. In the days after the incident, the Police Department reported that Titan “is doing well and in good spirits.”

In a tweet, the department said, “We are grateful Titan is on the road to recovery. He’s a brave boy!”