Georgia: Benjamin Hafer, 49, accused of leaving dog in hot car, dumping body in lake

GEORGIA -- Police believe that Benjamin Lloyd Hafer let his dog die in a hot car, put the body in a trash bag and threw it in a lake.

They also believe it may not have been the first time.

Hafer, a 49-year-old Lawrenceville resident, was arrested Wednesday and charged with a single count of cruelty to animals, a misdemeanor. He was released the next day on $1,300 bond.

Eh, this guy certainly deserves a "creepy" tag.

According to a Gwinnett County police incident report, an animal control officer responded to Hafer’s home on Ferrite Loop after receiving a tip that he had “left his dog in his vehicle” and been seen throwing the dog into a nearby lake. A police officer also responded as back up.

When asked if all of his dogs were OK, Hafer reportedly said he had four dogs but one of them — a black pit bull — was missing.

“Benjamin then told us that he knew where the lake was and that the dog was not going to be in the lake,” the incident report said.

Hafer reportedly led authorities to the lake, where they spotted a “black trash bag floating in the water.”

Inside was the missing pit bull.

The suspect’s mother then told police that her son had found the dog “inside his truck with the windows up” the day before and had not known what to do.

The 75-year-old woman said she didn’t believe Hafer had killed the dog on purpose.

Authorities believe that he did — and that he’d done something similar before.

The report from this week’s incident referenced Hafer’s “past experience of leaving a dog in a vehicle till it dies.”

No further details were provided, but Gwinnett County police spokesman Cpl. Edwin Ritter said there was a “similar complaint” about two months ago.

No report was made because there was “no proof the animal died in a car at that time,” Ritter said.

(Gwinnett Daily Post - July 11, 2014)