NEW ORLEANS -- A burglary suspect that led police on a chase through a Garden District park, injuring two dogs, was sentenced for Cruelty to animals Friday.
According to court records, Brandon Barthe will pay $12,000 dollars in restitution to the Southern Animal Foundation to cover the medical bills for the two dogs he wounded while driving through Coliseum Square Park.
Police chased Barthe from Gretna, over the Crescent City Connection and into the Lower Garden District on Jan. 1, 2017. From there, Barthe drove through Coliseum Square Park as school was getting out for the day.
At that time, two workers from the Southern Animal Foundation on Magazine Street were walking dogs in the park. Barthe struck two dogs with his car. Both dogs were taken to an emergency vet. One of them had a dislocated hip, the other needed extensive surgery for a broken pelvis.
Barthe was arrested later that night, back in Gretna.
Barthe was also arrested for simple burglary and aggravated flight from an officer in Jefferson Parish, but was not prosecuted for those charges.