He wanted to kill the dog. So he repeatedly smashed the dog’s head into a truck, cops say.
A Central Florida man needed to be restrained after he tried to kill a black Labrador retriever Sunday in South Beach, according to police.
Witnesses told Miami Beach police that they saw the man, later identified as Louis Sepulveda, choke the dog with a leash near the 1300 block of Ocean Drive, the agency says. He also used the tailgate of a Dodge Ram pickup to smash the dog’s head and neck, according to the arrest report.
Sepulveda left little doubt of his intentions.
The 51-year-old was reportedly heard screaming “he was going to kill the dog because he had it coming,” the deputy wrote. He claimed the dog had attacked him first.
Several bystanders had taken the dog away from Sepulveda and pinned him to the ground by the time officers arrived Sunday afternoon.
Sepulveda was arrested on one count of animal cruelty with intent to injure or kill. As of Monday evening, he remained in Turner Guilford Knight Corrections Center on $7,500 bond.
Court records show Sepulveda faced two battery charges in 2013 but escaped conviction.
This story was originally published December 23, 2019 at 6:16 PM.
