A Mabton woman has pleaded guilty to stomping a dog to death in June.
Regina Marie Palomarez, 37, pleaded guilty Sept. 17 to first-degree animal cruelty in Yakima County Superior Court.
In return for her plea, in which she admitted that she killed the dog “while manifesting an extreme indifference to the life of the animal,” prosecutors say they will drop charges of taking, concealing, injury or killing a pet and third-degree theft. They will also recommend that Palomarez serve three months in jail and participate in the drug court for the charge of felony violation of a protection order.
The court, however, is not required to follow the recommendation.
The standard sentencing range for animal cruelty is one to three months. Palomariez, who has been held in the Yakima County jail since her arrest in the June 3 incident, is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 1.
Yakima County sheriff’s deputies were called to the 800 block of Vance Road around 8:12 p.m. June 3 for a report of an unwanted guest. A man told police that Palomarez stole a dog from his property and took it next door, where she stomped on it and killed it, leaving the dog’s body at the Mabton cemetery, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Deputies went to Palomarez’s parents' home in the 400 block of Fern Avenue and found her coming out of the house, the affidavit said. Her mother obtained a no-contact order in 2024 that requires Palomarez to stay 1,000 feet away, according to court documents.
In the application for the order, Palomarez’s mother said her daughter’s drug use was causing her to act erratically and posed a threat to her health and the well-being of Palomarez’s three children.
Palomarez has two prior misdemeanor convictions for violating the order, and the third violation was charged as a felony.
© 2025 Yakima Herald-Republic (Yakima, Wash.). Visit www.yakima-herald.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
