Rock Hill man gets 8 years in prison for stabbing. The victim was a police dog
A Rock Hill man who stabbed a police dog last summer has been sentenced to eight years in prison after pleading guilty to cruelty to a law enforcement animal.
Travonte Devon Tate, 37, pleaded guilty Friday in York County criminal court to cruelty to a police dog or horse, and resisting arrest with a weapon, for a negotiated eight-year sentence, according to prosecutors and the judge in the case. Five of those years for the stabbing of the police dog are the maximum under South Carolina law.
Charges of attempted murder and a weapons charge were dismissed as part of a plea agreement, prosecutor Misti Shelton told visiting Judge Chris Taylor. Tate’s mother told police he threatened to kill her with a knife, according to Shelton. She later told prosecutors she did not want to go forward with prosecuting her son on the attempted murder charge, Shelton said.
Police dog stabbed
The Rock Hill Police Department dog, named Apollo, had to have emergency surgery and veterinary care after being stabbed at least four times on Aug. 28, Shelton said in court.
When officers found Tate shortly after responding to the call, Tate was still armed with the knife, Shelton said. Officers used the dog to apprehend him and the dog bit Tate, Shelton told the judge. Tate stabbed the dog before officers took him into custody.
Apollo returned to duty months after the stabbing and still works for the department.
Tate pleaded guilty without a lawyer. He told Judge Taylor that he did not want a court-appointed attorney and wanted to plead guilty.
He answered dozens of questions the judge asked about how, in a guilty plea, he gives up a right to a trial and other constitutional rights.
“I’m just ready to take the time you give me,” Tate said in court.
Both convictions are felonies.
Tate receives credit for 164 days he has been in jail since his arrest.
This story was originally published February 6, 2026 at 2:50 PM.
