A Redmond man was assigned five years in the state mental hospital for killing his roommate’s 17-year-old German shepherd in 2018.

Jeffrey Edward Taylor, 40, was found guilty except for insanity of aggravated first-degree animal abuse after a bench trial earlier this month in which he proclaimed “nanobots” had forced him to beat and stab the dog, named Ashton, which he said was communicating with him.

Taylor failed to appear at his scheduled sentencing and was picked up last week on an arrest warrant. On Monday, Taylor appeared at his sentencing in Deschutes County Circuit Court in custody from the Deschutes County jail.

A doctor who evaluated him prior to trial determined at the time he killed Ashton he was not in control of his actions and release from jail wasn’t appropriate due to his risk to the community.

“It’s a very disturbing case, your Honor,” prosecutor Rosalie Matthews told Judge Randy Miller. “We recommend state-level hospital care to maintain safety to the community.”

Taylor began experiencing the signs of schizophrenia in graduate school for public administration, according to trial testimony.

In September 2018, police were called to a report of a man beating a dog and threatening a passerby who witnessed the violence.

Taylor reportedly stopped his attack when officers arrived. Ashton died later, suffering from broken bones, a crushed skull and a slit neck.

The male roommate who owned Ashton was not home at the time of the attack and did not appear at Monday’s sentencing hearing.

Taylor’s attorney, Joel Wirtz, told the judge his client was “actively symptomatic” before Taylor was given a chance to speak. And as he did at trial, Taylor told the court he did not regret killing Ashton.

“I have a brain-computer interface that was nonconsensual since 2004 and graduate school and this is all very relevant to the case,” he said. “I killed this dog because I’ve been remote-tortured for 15 years and welcome the court’s assistance in these matters.”

— Reporter: 541-383-0325, gandrews@bendbulletin.com