Florida: Sigman Hernandez, 40, minimizes what he did to Lily the Yorkie. She was brutally beaten, stomped on, had several broken ribs, signs of strangulation and died two days after being abandoned by Hernandez in a Publix parking garage to die

FLORIDA -- Miami Beach police say Sigman Hernandez confessed Wednesday to “slapping and possibly choking” his tiny Yorkshire Terrier and leaving her in a Publix parking garage.

The reason, he told police: The dog vomited in his car because she had gotten carsick.

Hernandez, 40, of Miami, now faces a third-degree felony animal cruelty charge, punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine up to $10,000, according to state statutes. He also faces one count of animal abandonment. He was being held Wednesday night in Miami-Dade’s Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on a $6,000 bond.

On Tuesday, police released video of a “person of interest,” after a barely 8-pound dog was found next to a concrete column in the Publix garage at 1920 West Ave.

Officers took the dog, later named Lily, to Doral Centre Animal Hospital, a 24-hour emergency facility.

“When I received Lily she was motionless and lying on her left side,” Mariana Garcia wrote in her report. “Lily’s midsection also appeared swollen and distorted. Lily’s eyes were also bloodshot red and she would occasionally moan in pain.”

Lily had at least seven broken ribs and showed signs of strangulation, police said. It was highly suspected that Hernandez stomped on Lily's tiny body. 

Despite round-the-clock veterinary care, she died from her injuries two days later.

Garage surveillance video showed a red Toyota Yaris with a delivery sign on the roof back into a parking space shortly before the dog was found. The video showed the man go into the elevator, go to the restroom and then return to his car.

On Wednesday afternoon, the police department tweeted they were speaking with the “person of interest” seen in the video and later announced the arrest.

  

  

 

Hernandez, whose occupation is listed as a delivery person, told police he took the dog out of the car and placed it on the garage floor.

“The defendant admitted to pushing his dog with his feet while the dog lay on the garage floor,” the officer wrote in Hernandez’s report. “The defendant then abandoned his dog to suffer without providing care and assistance.”

ARREST INFORMATION:
Full Name: Sigman Andre Hernandez
Gender: Male
Birthdate: 12/13/1976
Height: 5'08"
Weight: 250 lbs
Hair Color: BRO
Eye Color: BRO
Arrest Age:40
Date:04/19/2017
Time: 9:48 PM
Agency: Dade County, Florida
Total Bond: $6,000
Charges
#1 ANIMAL/CRUELTY TO WITH INTENT TO INJURE, KILL/CON
BOND: $5,000

#2 ANIMAL/ABANDON WITHOUT FOOD AND SHELTER
BOND: $1,000

(Miami Herald - April 19, 2017)

Earlier:

• Florida: Badly beaten Yorkie found in Publix parking garage; she was rushed to a vet but died. Now police looking for a man in red Toyota seen on surveillance video.