Who is Nikolay Lukyanchikov? A Pennsylvania man was convicted of killing and burning his dog

A Pennsylvania man was sentenced Wednesday (March 23) to two to four years in state prison after pleading guilty to fatally shooting his dog and then burning it on a barbecue. According to the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office, Nikolay Lukyanchikov, 50, of Northampton Township, pleaded guilty to receiving stolen property, aggravating animal cruelty, having an instrumentality of crime, animal cruelty and recklessly endangering another person.

According to Philly Voice, Lukyanchikov obtained Bonanza, an 8-year-old greyhound, through the National Greyhound Adoption Program in Philadelphia after the animal was rescued from a racetrack in Macau, China in February 2019. The track has been dubbed “the worst”. Hellhole for Greyhound Racing Around the World” by animal rights groups, according to the district attorney’s office.

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In October last year, Lukyanchikov nicknamed the dog “Preacher”. Prosecutors say officers were dispatched to a home in Northampton Township at 7:12 a.m. EDT on April 30, 2021, after a complaint about a burning fireplace and couch in the front yard. Officers arrived at the scene and spotted Lukyanchikov sitting on a bench near the fire, doused him with lighter fluid and tossed counterfeit $100 bills into it. According to the press release, police also discovered a 9mm pistol on the bench. According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, Lukyanchikov was “extremely intoxicated” with a blood alcohol level of 0.25 and unable to speak. According to the district attorney’s office, after the fire was extinguished, officers discovered a badly burned and charred unnamed animal on top of a tiny charcoal grill. The dog had been shot at least once in the eye, according to an autopsy.

During Lukyanchikov’s sentence, Common Pleas Judge Raymond F. McHugh observed, “It scares me because you know you’re not supposed to have a gun, and yet you kept chasing one.” You shouldn’t have a weapon, period. According to Philly Voice, Assistant Bucks County District Attorney Robert D. James said, “Lukyanchikov said he killed Preacher to relieve the dog of his pain, but also confessed he had a horrible day. The gun used to kill the animal was taken from a friend’s wife a week before the shooting. James told the Inquirer: “I think it’s fair to characterize it as a dangerous person who has demonstrated the use of a firearm on an animal. And it’s no exaggeration to think that he would use it on a human.”

Disclaimer: This is based on sources and we have not been able to independently verify this information.