A Barberton man faces prison time for threatening to sic his dog on a puppy and an off-duty highway patrol officer.

James O. Henderson, 48, pled guilty to felonious assault charges Monday. On June 17, Henderson was drunk while walking his pit bull in Barberton, when his dog attempted to attack a victim's puppy.

The victim was able to pick-up his pet before the pit bull could reach it. While Henderson's dog was on a leash, he did not have the pit bull properly restrained.

Henderson followed the victim, an off-duty highway patrol officer and to threaten to sic his dog on the puppy.

When the officer showed his badge, Henderson began swearing and released the pit bull. The officer responded by shooting the pit bull in the head.

Henderson is sentenced to two years in prison.

A man who pleaded guilty to a murder in Ravenna last year is expected to spend the rest of his life in prison.

Judge John Enlow of Portage County Common Pleas Court ruled that Lawrence Burfitt Jr., 24, will be eligible for parole after serving 25 years.

The Record-Courier says during his sentencing Tuesday, Burfitt apologized for his actions.

Last October, Burfitt pleaded guilty to stabbing 38-year-old Clifford Cummings Jr. of Akron to death during a robbery inside an apartment on Cleveland Road in Ravenna in April of last year. The Portage County Prosecutor's Office dropped charges of aggravated robbery, aggravated burglary and four counts of kidnapping and ruled out the death penalty as a possible sentence.

On April 18, 2010, Burfitt and three other men forced their way into the apartment looking for money and drugs. In addition to the murder of Cummings, they also forced his girlfriend, Ericka Rouser, and two of her children into a closet.

Two accomplices, 22-year-old Jarmel Latimer and 19-year-old Damiyon Baxstrumn were sentenced to life in prison last month.

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