Siblings sentenced with death of family dog
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by Trinity Gruenberg
The Shegstad siblings were sentenced separately for killing their dog and leaving it at McGivern Park north of Staples. The incident was filmed and shared on social media in February.
Josiah Shegstad, 20, shot the dog while sister Tayiah Shegstad, 18, recorded it on her phone.
Josiah’s arraignment was on June 10. Tayiah’s was on May 20. Both cases were settled with a plea agreement. Both plead guilty.
Tayiah, who was convicted of two petty misdemeanors of disorderly conduct and the unlawful deposit of garbage, will have six months supervised probation and $240 in fees.
Josiah was convicted of a misdemeanor disorderly conduct and a petty misdemeanor for the unlawful deposit of garbage and $315 in fees. He will also serve 90 days in jail and have one year of supervised probation.
The siblings will serve 240 hours of community service at the Wadena County Humane Society (WCHS).
A court document dated June 12 explained the siblings are to complete 240 hours of community service work within six months at an animal shelter, humane society, or as directed by the probation officer. They left the location open and it does not have to be at the WCHS.
Tracy Adams Kooman, board chair of the WCHS, shared they have said no to having them serve their community service at the WCHS.
“If they can find a place for them and these individuals can learn compassion for animals—I want that for them. But we don’t have the ability to do that in Wadena. We are saying no,” said Kooman.