Coachella woman convicted of animal cruelty gets jail time, probation for dumping puppies in trash bin
Deborah Sue Culwell booking photo from The Riverside County Department of Animal Services.
LOS ANGELES - A Coachella woman authorities caught on surveillance video in April dumping a bag of 3-day-old puppies into a trash bin has received jail time after changing her plea to guilty.
Deborah Culwell was sentenced Wednesday to 365 days in county jail -- reduced to 174 days with credit for time served.
Culwell will also be on probation for three years.
The 59-year-old admitted to animal cruelty and animal abandonment charges after previously pleading not guilty.
Related: 'Puppies aren't people' says lawyer for Coachella woman accused of dumping dogs in trash
Prosecutors say she dumped a plastic bag with seven palm-sized puppies into a store dumpster.
They were left in sweltering heat before a man heard their cries and rescued them.
The pups believed to be terrier mixes were treated for dehydration. One died.
Another 38 dogs were rescued from Culwell's home in Coachella, east of Los Angeles.