51-year-old Francesco Placella appeared before a bail commissioner at Cranston Police Headquarters Tuesday night following his arrest on a misdemeanor animal cruelty charge.
His dog, a mini Pinscher named Bella, died last Tuesday after he allegedly left her in his car in the sweltering heat for nearly 45 minutes. NBC10 was first to report the incident at a Wal-Mart parking lot in Cranston.
Investigators say Placella then brought his unresponsive dog to a veterinarian, where he threatened to go back to the Wal-Mart and "shoot the place up." They say he was upset that Wal-Mart would not let him bring the dog into the store. Police say, instead, Placella left the dog in the car with the windows slightly open and some water to drink.
He was arrested after authorities say an exam of the dog showed it died of heat exhaustion.
Placella was released from the police station on $1000 personal recognizance and left with his lawyer, Mark Dana. Placella did not want to comment, but did at one point say, "It was an honest mistake." Dana told NBC10, "We'll see what the Cranston Police have and we'll go from there."
The Rhode Island SPCA tells NBC10 it has learned that Placella had brought the dog to a veterinarian three weeks earlier for heat exhaustion after leaving it in the car.
Joseph Warzycha of the SPCA, said, "People think if they leave the windows down, if I leave a bowl of water in the car for the dog, it gets significantly hotter inside a motor vehicle and people need to know that it's not safe for any amount of time."
Warzycha also told NBC10 that Placella has gotten another dog in the week since Bella died, while he was under investigation.
"It certainly concerns me that he had another animal in his possession," Warzycha said.
Warzycha didn't know where Placella got the new dog, but the SPCA took it to its shelter because it would have been left alone in Placella's home in Foster after his arrest. But the agency says it can't keep the dog if Placella now wants it back.
"If there's no order from a judge at this point, we have no legal authority to prevent him from doing that. We're hoping to get something in writing," said Warzycha.
Placella is scheduled to be in court for an arraignment on Aug. 6.
(turnto10 - July 24, 2013)
