A Cumberland County man who stabbed a K-9 officer to death last August will serve time in prison for it. Court officials say 29-year-old Dustin Lee Dixon pleaded guilty today in criminal court to the killing of a service animal, aggravated assault and theft of property more than $10,000. Other charges of evading arrest, DUI and driving on a suspended license were dropped. A special out-of-town judge gave Dixon six years to serve. The sentence is the maximum allowed in Tennessee for the intentional killing of a service animal. Dixon fatally stabbed K-9 Officer Cain while running from authorities after jumping out of a truck he stole.

According to court records obtained by 105.7 News, prior to this conviction today, Dixon has appeared in Cumberland County General Sessions court a total of 39 times since March 2007, making on average just shy of four appearances a year. The charges over the past 10 years include nine appearances for probation violation, five converted charges, three charges each of vandalism and speeding, two theft-of-merchandise charges and one charge each of possession of drugs, possession of drug paraphernalia, allowing a dog to run at large, driving on expired tags, violation of driver’s license law, reckless driving, driving on a revoked license, driving on a suspended license, criminal simulation, aggravated criminal trespassing, being a fugitive from justice, simple possession of drugs, criminal trespassing, assault, violation of the financial responsibility law (no insurance), violation of the motor-vehicle lights law and driving an unregistered vehicle.