A Middleburg man who taped his girlfriend's small dog's muzzle and legs shut before strangling her on camera has pleaded guilty and faces the maximum sentence allowed under Florida law: five years in prison. Cole Daughtry, 25, entered a guilty plea in the case, which began when his then-girlfriend stumbled onto the abuse while scrolling through old phone videos.
According to News4JAX, Daughtry's girlfriend discovered several videos while reviewing older recordings in August, showing him abusing her dog Nina. The recordings showed Nina's snout taped shut, her legs bound together, and Daughtry strangling her as he filmed. A Clay County Sheriff's Office arrest report detailed by HomeFetch identifies the girlfriend as Alexis Clark, who says she confirmed it was Daughtry in the videos by recognizing the distinct tattoos on his hands, since the pair had shared the cellphone where the footage sat saved for months.
Nina was a small Chiweenie, a Chihuahua-Dachshund mix, per the arrest report cited by HomeFetch. Clark reported that Daughtry had killed her dog on August 2, and deputies arrested him six days later, on August 8.
A Confession and a Second Witness
Investigators said a second witness told deputies that Daughtry had admitted to killing Nina and repeatedly apologized, the same HomeFetch report states. After his arrest, Daughtry admitted to an arresting officer that he had taped and strangled the dog. He then buried her in a wooded area with help from a friend, according to the outlet's account of the arrest report. An August 17 report said he was being held at the Clay County Jail on a $75,503 bond. He pleaded guilty roughly two months after his arrest.
The sheriff's office has pursued similar cases before; it issued public notices in December 2025 seeking two Green Cove Springs residents wanted on felony aggravated animal cruelty warrants, as Hoodline previously reported.
Florida's Toughened Animal Cruelty Laws
Daughtry's five-year sentence is the statutory ceiling under Florida Statute 828.12(2), which classifies aggravated animal cruelty as a third-degree felony carrying up to five years in prison, fines as high as $10,000, and courts may order a psychological evaluation or anger management counseling, according to a legal analysis from The Umansky Law Firm. His plea also lands just one week after a new state law, House Bill 559, took effect on October 1, expanding Florida's public animal abuse registry to include booking photos and case outcomes while increasing penalties for severe cruelty, as reported by Wisevoter.
The law builds on a wave of 2025 reforms, including Dexter's Law and Trooper's Law, which introduced a 1.25-point sentencing score multiplier for aggravated cruelty cases and barred convicted abusers from having their records sealed or expunged, according to Resident News. Both bills passed the Florida Legislature unanimously following a string of high-profile local animal abuse cases, the outlet reported.
Pet Abuse and Domestic Violence
A study by American University researchers used FBI NIBRS data to examine animal cruelty and family violence.
One survey found that 71% of domestic-violence victims with household pets reported that an abusive partner threatened, injured, or killed an animal. With Daughtry's plea now entered, he faces the maximum sentence Florida law allows for the crime.
