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Coming back home one morning after a massive argument with her boyfriend, a Penticton woman found her place a mess and the lid to her pet lizard's enclosure removed.

As she got closer to the enclosure, she noticed her lizard Gizmo was dead – a knife was sticking out of the reptile's head.

There were cuts all over the lizard's body and a note next to the enclosure read: "dumb."

Her boyfriend, Jacob Bradley Barth, was asleep on the couch and still drunk.

Horrified by the carnage, the girlfriend then noticed that her two guitars lay broken on the floor, her tires had been slashed and her place was littered with broken stuff.

The RCMP were called, but in his drunken stupor, Barth refused to leave. The police had to forcefully remove him.

On April 7, Barth appeared in a Penticton courtroom having been charged with killing the lizard, animal cruelty, mischief and criminal harassment.

"He didn't just kill a lizard, he weaponized grief," BC Provincial Judge Greg Koturbash said. "(Barth) you struck... a symbol of trust, comfort and companionship, fully aware of the emotional damage that it would cause your partner."

The court heard Gizmo had numerous deep stab wounds all over its body before the knife was stabbed into its head and left there.

Judge Koturbash said Barth's actions were "sinister" and "very, very disturbing."

The court heard the young couple had been together about five years when the argument erupted in December 2022. The girlfriend had had Gizmo for seven years.

The couple separated after the argument, and Barth, who was 22 at the time, apologized and sent her $1,000 for all the damage.

She told him not to contact her again.

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However, he continued and in August 2023 the girlfriend tried to get a restraining order. Following some further "concerning behaviour," Barth was charged with killing Gizmo and criminal harassment.

Barth had been set to fight the charges and go to trial but instead pleaded guilty to killing the animal and uttering threats.

The court heard that the incident caused the girlfriend significant psychological harm and left her with panic attacks, anxiety and concerns for her safety. She also had to grieve the death of Gizmo.

"It's not about a reptile, it's about control, cruelty, and calculated emotional harm. In doing so, he betrayed the trust and revealed a very disturbing disregard for life, both animal and human," the Judge said. "The suffering wasn't only that of a small creature, but of a person who loved and cared for it. He didn't just kill a lizard."

Almost nothing was said in court about Barth's life except that he didn't have a criminal record. A psychological assessment had taken place before sentencing but no details were given from the report.

"The real problem seems to be anger that gets fuelled by drinking," defence lawyer James Pennington said.

The lawyer said Barth had since quit drinking and was very remorseful for his actions. He accepted the emotional damage it had done to his former girlfriend.

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However, Judge Koturbash said alcohol was only one part of the story.

"I accept that intoxication may lower inhibitions, but it does not create cruelty where none exists. People don't suddenly become violent strangers to themselves when they drink," the judge said. "This wasn't just a lapse in judgment, it was an insight or a window into a flawed part of your character, and it can't be ignored."

In a joint submission to the court, lawyers put forward a sentence of three months of house arrest followed by three months under a 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew. A year's probation would follow and Barth would have to remain sober the entire time.

The judge said the sentence was "lenient" but accepted that judges in Canada have to follow joint submissions that are in keeping with the law.

As a condition of his probation, Barth was ordered to take part in counselling.

"You do need help, and not just to stop drinking, but to understand and address the impulses that surfaced when you did what you did... Mr. Barth, if this behaviour is not corrected, it will repeat and the consequences next time will be even more serious," the Judge said.

Along with the sentence, Barth was banned from owning a pet for 10 years, although will be allowed to keep ownership of his two dogs.

The judge said he didn't want to destabilize Barth's situation by removing the dogs.

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