Judge Sentences Dayna Kristine Bell to 30 Days in Jail

Northfield resident Dayna Kristine Bell was handed her sentence by a Dakota County judge Friday after being found guilty of 13 felony counts of animal cruelty last November.

Bell, 62, was sentenced by Judge Tim Wermager to 30 days in jail, 45 days of electronic home monitoring and 100 hours of community work service in connection with the November conviction, according to a press release from the Dakota County Attorney's Office.

Bell was also ordered to pay a fine of $2,600 and to serve probation for four years. As part of this sentence Bell cannot own or work around animals and has forfeited her commercial license, the release said.

As previously reported by Patch, was originally charged with 16 counts of animal cruelty, all felonies:

According to a criminal complaint filed with the court, the Dakota County Sheriff's Office received a report of cruelty and maltreatment of animals by Bell in September 2011.

A former employee reported that Bell was drowning puppies, in one case taking a rope that was attached to a cinder block and tying it around a puppy's neck and throwing the block and puppy into a pool, according to the complaint.

The former employee also told authorities that Bell claimed to break the neck of a small dog that bit her and then said, "That (expletive) will never bother any of us again. I broke its damn neck."

Another witness, also a former employee, told police that Bell put a puppy in a bucket of water and then placed another bucket on top to hold the puppy down. 

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