MIAMI – A South Florida man charged in the dog-mauling death of his 4-year-old son accepted a plea deal Monday that sentences him to 30 years in prison, but requires that he serve only four.
Javon Dade Sr. must also serve six years of probation.
According to police, Dade and his girlfriend were sleeping off a hangover last August when Dade's son, Javon Dade Jr., got outside through an unlocked door.
He was reported missing by the couple and later found dead in their back yard, mauled to death by a dog. Police said the couple had spent the previous night smoking marijuana laced with cocaine.
The state Monday offered Dade a plea deal of five years in prison with probation, also asking that he write a letter of apology to the toddler's mother.
When Judge Rodney Smith asked Dade if he would accept the plea deal, Dade went over his own attorney's head and asked for a continuance, saying he wasn't prepared for trial.
The state said that if he was granted the continuance, the plea deal would be off the table.
Dade's defense team pulled him inside a conference room to make sure he fully understood the state's offer.
Dade's attorneys later negotiated the plea deal so that he has to serve only four years behind bars.
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