We denounce the sentencing of Alexey Dimoglo, who was charged with animal cruelty for brutally killing a rabbit who belonged to the host of a party he attended last year. 

Judge Bethzaida Sanabria-Vega doesn’t appear to take animal cruelty seriously.

On September 17, 2025, he accepted a plea deal and was sentenced to two years of probation by Judge Bethzaida Sanabria-Vega, First Justice of the Chicopee Division, Massachusetts District Court, instead of the up to 14 years' imprisonment he could have served, and the fine of $10,000 that he could have been fined. 

In case you’re wondering how this travesty of justice could have even taken place, it is a shared outcome. In Massachusetts, the district attorney’s office proposes and negotiates the plea, and the judge decides whether to accept it and imposes the sentence. Practically, the DA is the architect of the plea terms, and the judge is the gatekeeper who can approve, modify, or reject them.

The Background

Alexey Dimoglo and co-defendant Gabriel Nava were taken into custody by the Westfield Police Department in November 2024 after a warrant was issued for their arrests following an incident that took place at a party they crashed earlier that month.

The pair were alleged to have brutally killed Pumpernickle, a rabbit who belonged to the party’s host, by grabbing the animal by the ears and slamming their body into the ground before throwing the helpless being off a porch and into a parking lot.

The two men can allegedly be heard on a video laughing, and one says, “We just committed a murder.”

Based on the handling of this case, District Attorney Anthony Gulluni is no friend to animals.

More than 15,000 people signed In Defense of Animals’ alert urging District Attorney Anthony Gulluni to seek maximum sentencing for both men. Despite each man being charged with cruelty to an animal and the malicious killing of a domestic animal, DA Gulluni set up this pathetic plea deal.

Under Massachusetts law, maliciously killing or injuring a domestic animal is punishable by up to 7 years imprisonment, a minimum fine of $5,000, or both. Cruelty to animals carries the same penalties, plus a prohibition on working with animals.

Dimoglo’s sentencing is a slap in the face to all those seeking justice for animal victims of cruelty and to hold abusers accountable for the harm they cause to animals, their guardians, and their communities. Those who harm animals are a danger to all members of society, whether human or another animal. The Westfield justice system has to do better, and we urge a much stronger sentence for his accomplice if he is also found guilty.

Nava’s pre-trial is scheduled for December 4, and his jury trial is scheduled for December 16, 2025. 

If you believe the plea and sentence failed to reflect the severity of this violent killing, you can file formal complaints and give respectful feedback:

About the judge’s conduct:

• File a complaint with the Massachusetts Commission on Judicial Conduct. The CJC accepts complaints from any interested person through its online form.

About the prosecutor’s conduct:

• Contact the Hampden County District Attorney’s Office to register your concern about the plea decision in this case and to ask for stronger policies in severe animal cruelty cases. Phone: 413-747-1000.
• If you believe an attorney engaged in professional misconduct, you may file a complaint with the Massachusetts Board of Bar Overseers through the Office of Bar Counsel.

Where the comment forms ask for a Docket Number, use this: 2444AC001709

Court records and case questions

For docket or hearing details in Westfield District Court, contact the Clerk’s Office at 413-568-8946 or cmwestfielddc@jud.state.ma.us.

If a donation is not possible today, filing a complaint, sharing this update, and urging officials to treat violence against animal companions with the gravity it deserves are powerful actions. Thank you for standing with us.