Mentor Man Pleads Guilty After Drowning, Freezing Woman's Puppy

MENTOR, OH — A Mentor man who was arrested last summer for drowning and then freezing his then-girlfriend’s puppy has pleaded guilty to animal cruelty charges after changing his plea Monday morning in a court appearance.

Phil Savelli was scheduled to head to trial Monday in Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas but changed his not guilty plea to guilty, Cleveland 19 reported on Monday. He is scheduled to be sentenced on three counts of animal cruelty in February.

Authorities arrested Savelli in June after surveillance footage in his girlfriend’s house captured video of him submerging the woman’s 10-month-old Yorkie, Coco, in a sink full of water, then putting the puppy in a freezer more than once until the puppy died, Highland Heights police said.

Savelli then put the puppy back in its bed after the dog died, police said. He faces a year in prison and up to a $2,500 fine for the animal cruelty charges.