Haniyyah Barnes is serving a four-year prison sentence for throwing a two-year-old Shih Tzu into oncoming traffic Watch video
NEWARK -- For the second time in nearly two months, Haniyyah Barnes was sent to state prison on Friday in the case where she killed her neighbor's two-year-old Shih Tzu by throwing it into oncoming traffic during a 2011 parking dispute.
Barnes, 29, of Newark, was sentenced to a four-year prison term on a burglary charge for breaking into her neighbor's city home before ultimately grabbing the dog by the throat, going back outside and throwing her into oncoming traffic, where she was struck by a vehicle and killed.
Before Superior Court Judge Richard Sules handed down the sentence, Essex County Assistant Prosecutor Michele Miller reminded him about "the heinousness of the crime."
"Nobody should ever commit the kind of heinous acts that Ms. Barnes committed on that day to anyone, let alone a defenseless animal," said Miller, adding that "her behavior was abhorrent and should be punished accordingly."
Barnes declined to make a statement on Friday before she was sentenced.
The four-year sentence on the burglary charge will run concurrent to the four-year prison sentence Barnes received on Feb. 24 on charges of animal cruelty, theft and criminal mischief.
Barnes was convicted by a jury on Oct. 13 of those three offenses, but jurors could not reach a verdict on a second-degree burglary charge.
To resolve the matter, Barnes pleaded guilty on April 8 to a downgraded charge of third-degree burglary and a disorderly persons offense in exchange for the concurrent four-year prison sentence.
Barnes will receive credit for nearly six months of time served and there is no minimum period she must serve before becoming eligible for parole.
As part of her sentence, Sules ordered Barnes to pay restitution to her former neighbor and said Barnes is prohibited from purchasing, owning or residing with domestic animals for 10 years. Under the sentence, Barnes also must not have any contact with the victim, the victim's family or the Newark residence where the incident occurred.
The judge also said Barnes must attend anger management courses and a certified drug and alcohol counseling program.
Barnes had pleaded guilty in April 2014 to burglary, animal cruelty and theft charges. Under a plea agreement, prosecutors had agreed to recommend a six-year prison sentence. But Sules allowed Barnes to withdraw her guilty plea in February 2015.
When the Aug. 26, 2011 incident took place, Barnes and Nazirah Bey lived two doors down from one another on Fabyan Place in Newark, and they had an arrangement in which Bey allowed Barnes's mother to park in her driveway.
In pleading guilty, Barnes said she rang the doorbell at Bey's home in order to get Bey to move her car out of the driveway. After no one responded to the doorbell, Bey admitted to forcing the door open and entering the home without permission.
After the Shih Tzu, named Honey Bey, began barking, Barnes grabbed the dog by the throat, went back outside and threw her into oncoming traffic, where she was struck by a vehicle and killed, prosecutors said.
A Newark police officer was sitting in a patrol vehicle nearby and witnessed Barnes throw the dog into the street, prosecutors said.
Bill Wichert may be reached at bwichert@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BillWichertNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.