April 27, 2016 Staff Report
A Jackson Heights man has been indicted on charges for allegedly killing his girlfriend’s Chihuahua during a heated argument.
The defendant allegedly slammed the 3-year-old dog’s head against the floor while his girlfriend’s 11-year-old daughter looked on, according to the Queens District Attorney’s office.
Carlos Hernandez, 32, of 73rd Street in Jackson Heights, was arraigned this morning on an eight-count indictment charging him with one count of aggravated cruelty to animals, one count of third-degree robbery, two counts of fourth-degree grand larceny, one count of fourth-degree criminal mischief, one count of endangering the welfare of a child, one count of second-degree harassment and one count of disorderly conduct.
If convicted, Hernandez faces up to seven years in prison.
According to the charges, Hernandez was inside his girlfriend’s Forest Hills residence at approximately 4:15 p.m. on Sunday, January 10, 2016, when he got into a verbal dispute with her.
It is alleged that Hernandez grabbed the Chihuahua out of her hands and slammed the dog against the floor, causing the Chihuahua to bleed from its ears and collapse on the floor where it died minutes later. The girlfriend’s 11-year-old daughter, who was the Chihuahua’s caregiver, allegedly witnessed the violent incident.
“The defendant is accused of aggravated cruelty to animals for pulling his girlfriend’s small dog out of her arms during an argument and killing the helpless animal by violently throwing the dog to the floor. Such acts of aggression toward animals cannot – and will not – be tolerated.”
Brown noted that the indictment is the first one to be brought by his Animal Cruelty Prosecutions Unit, which was established in January.
The mandate of the Animal Cruelty Prosecutions Unit – the first of its kind in a District Attorney’s Office in New York City – will be to investigate and prosecute animal cruelty crimes in Queens County and to educate the public about how to prevent and detect abuse of animals.
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2 Comments
Wooooow he gets 7 years ???? Meanwhile those guys that kidnapped the girl and made her a sex slave in that hotel only got 2 years …our system is messed up. I dont want to live here anymore
The sentence needs to fit the crime! Shame in this man killing an innocent creature.