Man broke into a car ….. to swipe a puppy March 27, 2013

A North Naples man was arrested Sunday after Collier County sheriff’s deputies say he broke into another man’s car and stole his puppy.

Lee Mason McFalls, 21, of the 5100 block of Cherry Wood Drive, is facing felony charges of burglary and grand theft.

The victim called authorities around 3 a.m. to report the dog had been taken from his car at a Randall Boulevard gas station, according to an arrest report.

Collier County sheriff’s deputies located the suspect’s car and conducted a traffic stop. When the deputy approached the vehicle, the puppy was on a passenger’s lap, reports said.

Deputies used security footage from the gas station to identify the driver of the car, McFalls, as the man who stole the puppy. McFalls told deputies that he had the dog for about four months and was tired of being “kicked down, brought down or nothing working for him,” reports said.

The dog’s owner told deputies he paid $1,500 for the puppy.

Heading to the beach for Spring Break? Please don’t take Fido March 22, 2013

Traveling to Florida for Spring Break?

Then please leave your pets at home.

A Clearwater cop had been working on an off-duty job near Pier 60 on Clearwater Beach when someone flagged him down to report that a dog was locked inside a car parked nearby, according to a news release from the Clearwater Police Department.

When the cop approached the car, he noted the windows were rolled up with the engine turned off — in other words, no running air for the poor pooch, a 3-year-old Pit bull / terrier mix, the release stated.
The cop waited near the car, hoping the owner would return soon. But when the dog began to appear to have become distressed from the heat, the good cop broke a window to get the pooch out of the car.

The dog was reportedly friendly but very thirsty.

The dog’s owner, Melody Erin Dyer, returned to the car about an hour later. Dyer was drunk and admitted to leaving ‘Power,’ the pooch, in the car for about two-hours in the afternoon sun while she was hanging out at the beach, according to the report.

Dyer, 20, was visiting the area and lives in Tennessee.

And now she can tell her friends about her Spring Break adventure in the Big Dog House.

Man punched police horse for no apparent reason March 17, 2013

Wednesday was a rough day for non-human cops at the Key West Police Department.

Early in the morning, a 21-year-old man allegedly punched a police K-9 in the head when the suspect was found in a place he shouldn’t have been. Then in the afternoon, a 28-year-old man reportedly punched a police horse for no apparent reason.

Both are charged with misdemeanor battery on a law enforcement animal.

In the first incident, police responded to the Compass Realty office, 200 Front St., around 3 a.m. after the building alarm was activated. They found a busted-out window and a trail of blood.

That prompted officers to release 4-year-old German shepherd Cyress, who immediately ran to the second floor of the building, according to a report prepared by Officer Thomas Stutz.

The human cops followed the dog upstairs to find Shanon Adams “wearing only shoes and socks, punching K-9 Cyress in the head.”

“Adams stated he did not know where he was or what was happening,” according to reports. “Adams stated he had issues with sleep walking and that he often woke in strange places after drinking.”

In addition to the charge for punching Cyress, he’s charged with burglary and criminal mischief.

In 2012, Adams was a junior linebacker for the Division 1 Georgetown University football team in Washington, D.C. Among his teammates was fellow junior linebacker John Porter, a graduate of Marathon High School.

Later in the day, around 3:45 p.m., police were working a mounted patrol Spring Break detail at Smathers Beach along South Roosevelt Boulevard when Yeorgo Kapiris, who lists his occupation as a farmer on Ramrod Key, interrupted an investigation into underage drinking.

According to a report prepared by Officer Frank Betz, Kapiris walked up to police horse Smoke and leaned against the animal. Smoke moved, and “I then observed Kapiris punch Smoke in the left neck area,” Betz reported.

Under law, police department animals are considered law officers.

Daughter, 12, captured dad torturing family cat on video March 6, 2013

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Shocking video shot by a 12-year-old girl shows her father abusing the family cat, police say, with allegations of much worse off camera.

James Fiengo was arrested Tuesday for hurting the family cat, Joey. Fiengo, of 400 Airoso Blvd., also is accused of abusing Daisy, a female German shepherd, according to a Port St. Lucie police report.

RAW VIDEO: Watch the full video provided by Port St. Lucie police

Port St. Lucie Animal Control learned of the abuse from Fiengo’s wife, who showed animal control the video taken by their 12-year-old daughter. Fiengo is seen squeezing the cat’s head and twisting and pulling the cat’s ear.

In another video he forcefully squeezes the cat’s head then holds the cat upside down and bats its head.

Not shown on the video are other claims of abuse by Fiengo made by his wife. Police report Fiengo regularly picks Joey up by the tail and swings him back and forth, squeezes the cat’s tail in an attempt to “crack it like a stick,” throws the cat across the house and punches him in the stomach.

Fiengo’s wife says the cat “doesn’t chew right” and has a deformed ear now. She also told police Fiengo abuses the dog Daisy by sitting on her and biting her muzzle until she yelps. She said the family has had two cats prior to Joey that she had to get rid of “for their own protection” because Fiengo “cracked” the tail on the first one and threw the second one against a wall, knocking it unconscious.

Fiengo’s wife said she has obtained a restraining order against her husband for threats he has made to his daughter for recording the videos.

A veterinarian examined the cat and found cartilage damage to the cat’s right ear. The vet also x-rayed the cat’s tail and found it showed chronic trauma.

He has been arrested on two counts of felony animal cruelty.UPDATED: Daughter captures Port St. Lucie man torturing family cat on video

Ever get that sudden, uncontrollable urge to run out of your home a harass a K-9 inside a police cruiser?

As a police officer drove by Jaquil Williams’ house in Alachua early Sunday morning, Williams charged the police dog in the vehicle “flailing his arms’’ and “yelling at the top of his lungs,’’ according to a report.

The police dog struck the cage, and Williams was arrested for harassing a police K-9.

An Alachua Police Department officer responding to a call about an armed disturbance at 2:30 a.m. drove by Williams’ home at 13710 NW 158th Ave.

Williams, 18, ran about 10 feet to the police car, yelling and raising his hands and arms, the report states. He was arrested on the misdemeanor charge.

Angry man abused pit bulls at park; forced them to drink rum March 1, 2013

FORT PIERCE — A man’s anger at his pit bull dogs in a public park escalated to the point he physically abused them and forced them to consume alcohol, according to police reports.

When confronted, Herbert Barron, 52, told police “if my dogs don’t listen to me then I’m going to put them in the ground,” according to a police arrest affidavit.

He was arrested Wednesday afternoon on a charge of animal cruelty. And when he was being booked into the county jail, jail officials found marijuana, leading to his arrest on charges of smuggling contraband into the jail and possession of marijuana.

A city animal control officer was the first to respond to a 911 call from a witness who had been playing dominoes with friends in the Horatio Grisby Park, a park on Avenue M that is dedicated to youth sports.

Because Barron alledgely became agitated at being questioned, a police officer was called in for backup.

The witness said she called 911 because Barron allegedly had slammed the dogs on the ground and kicked them in the abdomen.

Then he allegedly held the dogs’ mouths open “and forced the bottle of down the dogs throats, making the dogs drink the alcohol,” the report said. Police took into evidence a bottle of Wray and Nephew white rum.

The witness showed the officer a cellphone video recording of the incident.

“I observed Barron taking a running start and kicking his two dogs. Barron then picked up the two dogs by their leashes and  choked them,” the officer wrote in the report.

Robber allegedly pushed man out of wheelchair into traffic; pooch hurt February 28, 2013

A known gang member was arrested Wednesday on robbery and attempted murder charges after snatching cash from a disabled man and pushing him and his wheelchair into oncoming traffic on U.S. Highway 192, the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office said.

Jose Mojica de la Rosa survived the attack uninjured on Saturday evening, but his 9-month-old Chihuahua, Lola, broke a leg when she was crushed beneath the overturned wheelchair, according to interviews Wednesday afternoon.

“He pushed me,” Mojica de la Rosa said of suspect Sonny Abreu, whom witnesses identified as the attacker, according to the arrest report.

Mojica de la Rosa said he had gone to a Shell gas station on the 4600 block of U.S. Highway 192 about 7 p.m. to withdraw $240 to pay for his rent. Illness and a stroke about 10 years ago forced him to use a motorized wheelchair, he said.

Abreu, 24, was standing nearby talking to another man and his wife and as he watched Mojica de la Rosa withdraw money, the arrest report stated. The other man later told detectives he recognized Abreu from serving time with him in the Osceola County Jail and refused when Abreu asked for help robbing the disabled man, according to the arrest affidavit.

“Jose advised the (suspect) pushed him so hard that he and his motorized wheelchair fell into the eastbound lanes of 192 … Jose stated he was scared for his life, fearing that he might be struck by passing vehicles that were passing within inches of him as he lay helpless in the road,” the report stated. “He was only able to escape injury in the roadway because passing motorists and pedestrians stopped to help him.”

When knocked from his wheelchair, Mojica de la Rosa had been holding Lola in his lap and the dog’s leg was broken in the fall.

Abreu was arrested in Osceola County in 2009 and 2012 on burglary charges but was not convicted in either case. Although he is a documented member of an undisclosed street gang, deputies said the attack and robbery is not believed to be gang related.

In addition to attempted murder and robbery, Abreu is charged with abuse on a disabled adult, petit theft and animal cruelty. He remains held without bail in the Osceola County Jail.

Protesters Rally Against Proposed Pit Bull Ban in Broward County, Florida February 26, 2013

   

Once Broward County Commissioner Barbara Sharief presents her pit bull legislation, she hopes it will clear up some confusion. After a rash of recent pit bull attacks in Broward, Sharief said the county needs a common sense solution. Sharief andpit bull owners Jeff Mederos and Zharel Silva comment.

The owners of a pit bull who was shot by an officer in Fort Lauderdale after police said it attacked a K-9 said they think the killing could have been avoided. Antonio Spann said his dog was shot twice.

Pit bull owners gathered at the Broward Governmental Center Tuesday morning to hold a rally against a proposal that would keep some breeds out of the county.

“It scares the death out of me, my dogs have done nothing wrong,” said protester Whitney Buckwald, who owns two pit bulls. “To blame a few bad apples for what is the majority is insane, it’s just not right.”

Buckwald and other protesters gathered outside the center ahead of Tuesday’s county commission meeting where commissioners are expected to discuss the proposal that would make it illegal to own and keep American Pit Bull Terriers, American Staffordshire Terriers, Staffordshire Bull Terriers or any other dog that substantially conforms to any of these “pit bull” breed characteristics.

Under the legislation, current owners could keep their pit bulls, but would face fines for housing extra ones. Owners who fail to register or vaccinate their dogs could face a $300 fine. Those caught training a dog to fight could receive a $500 fine.

State law doesn’t allow counties to enact breed-specific legislation but Miami-Dade has a pit bull prohibition from 1989 that predates that law.

The Broward legislation is being proposed by Commissioner Barbara Sharief.

“I’ve heard people say, ‘oh, Commissioner Sharief wants us to ban all pit bulls, and get rid of our pit bulls.’ No, that’s simply not the case,” Sharief told NBC 6 South Florida Monday.

But Tuesday’s protesters weren’t convinced. Carrying signs reading “Pits aren’t the problem, people are” and “Equality for all breeds,” the demonstrators railed against the proposed legislation.

“It’s ridiculous and I don’t want my dogs taken away from me, I don’t want anybody’s dogs taken away,” said Buckwald, who added that if the legislation passes, she’d move to Palm Beach County. “It’s not fair.”

Not everyone agreed with the demonstrators.

“I go to the dog park with my dog and everything and when I see a pit bull, I’m scared, I want to leave the park,” Dania Beach resident Rachel Sagala said. “They’re dangerous dogs, and if people don’t train them well, they can be really dangerous for everyone.”

Man, 89, shot neighbor’s pooch with pellet gun February 24, 2013

GOODLAND — For more than two months, a pellet shot from a gun has been lodged in the chest of Hotkee, an 8-year-old, 10-pound Shih Tzu-Chihuahua mix.

Hotkee still snaps awake at night on occasion, barking and shaking as he scampers across owner Mark “Smitty” Schmitt’s Goodland home. Hotkee — Seminole for “white” — still needs X-rays every six months, and one day could need surgery to remove the pellet, Schmitt said.

But all things considered, Hotkee’s recovering well.

“He’s a strong puppy,” Schmitt said, “but he’s got to live now with a bullet next to his heart.”

On Thursday, Collier County sheriff’s deputies arrested the Goodland man they say shot Hotkee with a pellet gun in December. Jack Swisher, 89, faces a single charge of animal cruelty, a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail. He posted $2,000 bail.

Swisher said he shot Hotkee because the dog would often run through his yard, defecating in his wife’s flower beds, according to Sheriff’s Office reports.

After the shooting, Swisher told the Daily News the shooting was accidental, meant to spook the pup away from his yard. Swisher denied wanting to hurt Hotkee, noting he’s raised hunting dogs in the past.

“I didn’t intend to hit the dog,” Swisher said at the time. “I wanted to scare the dog. It was an accident. … The fact that I hit him was a surprise to me.”

A witness, however, told deputies Swisher admitted to the shooting and said “I burnt him good,” refering to the dog. Attempts to reach Swisher for comment Friday were unsuccessful.

Schmitt called the arrest a relief, saying the shooting has cost him peace of mind and about $1,500 in vet bills.

“I was very happy that he got charged with something,” Schmitt said. “It was very stressful all these nights for me and my wife, not knowing whether he’d be alive when we wake up in the morning.”

While Hotkee doesn’t have any more immediate veterinary needs, the pellet could have to be removed if it causes bleeding — an operation that costs $6,000 to $8,000, Schmitt said. He plans to pursue damages against Swisher.

Swisher previously told the Daily News he attempted to speak with Schmitt but was turned away. On Friday, speaking from his job at Stan’s Idle Hour, Schmitt said he doesn’t want to hear from his northern Goodland neighbor.

“I don’t really know the man at all,” Schmitt said. “I’d rather just stay away from him, which the police told me to do.”

Florida man arrested after posting photos of his kids riding manatee calf February 19, 2013

A 21-year-old Fort Pierce man is facing charges of harassing a manatee calf during a visit last month to Taylor Creek.

Authorities arrested Ryan William Waterman after he allegedly posted online photos of himself and two young children petting a manatee calf at a park area along the Intracoastal Waterway opposite the St. Lucie Inlet and southwest of St. Lucie County International Airport.

One image on Waterman’s Facebook page shows him lifting the calf partially out of the water and another shows a child sitting on top of the manatee, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

The Florida Manatee Sanctuary Act makes it illegal to injure, harm, harass, capture or attempt to capture a manatee. If convicted, Waterman faces a fine of $500 and up to 60 days in jail, FWC spokeswoman Katie Purcell said.

A human interaction of this kind may seem harmless but can have serious consequences for manatees and other wildlife, FWC officials said.

“This was a young manatee which was likely still dependant on its mother for food and protection,” said Thomas Reinert, an FWC manatee biologist. “Separating the two could have severe consequences for the calf.”

The calf also appeared from the photos to be experiencing cold-stress syndrome, which can kill manatees in extreme cases, Reinert said.

“Taking the calf out of the water may have worsened its situation,” Reinert said.

Last November, Pinellas County authorities arrested Ana Gloria Garcia Gutierrez for allegedly riding a manatee along the coastal waters of Fort De Soto Park near St. Petersburg.