Puerto Rico: Luis Arroyo, 40, bit off the head of his girlfriend's Chihuahua, and then punched her in the face say police

PUERTO RICO -- A man in Puerto Rico has been sentenced to seven years in prison for a series of horrific crimes.

Luis Arroyo, 40, bit off the head of his girlfriend's Chihuahua, and then punched her in the face.

Authorities said Tuesday that a judge also ordered Arroyo to pay a $3,000 fine in the case that included domestic abuse and mistreatment of an animal.

Arroyo had pleaded guilty to assaulting his girlfriend, who owned the dog.

The incident occurred in February around 3:30 in the morning on a weekend in the western mountain town of Lares.

The municipality is located about an hour-and-a-half from San Juan.

According to Primera Hora, the two had been living together for about six months, and he had no history of domestic abuse.

Arroyo, who is unemployed, was unable to originally post his bail which was set at $400,000.

He is now being held at Las Cucharas Correctional Complex.

 

(Daily Mail - March 28, 2017)

Puerto Rico: Carlos Mahones, 25, accused of feeding his pit bull puppies to his pet reptile

PUERTO RICO -- A 25-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly feeding at least 11 pit bull puppies to a caiman that he kept in his backyard, Puerto Rican authorities said Tuesday.

Police said Carlos Mahones (aka Carlos Viera, Carlos Mahones Viera) faces animal cruelty charges. They said the suspect owns a pit bull that recently gave birth to 14 puppies.

Mahones is free on $50,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in court Friday. Mahones could not be reached for comment. He doesn't have a listed phone number and it isn't clear if he is represented by a lawyer.

Puerto Rico adopted a law in recent years to prosecute suspected animal abusers, seeking to combat animal cruelty.

(Daily Mail - Dec 13, 2016)

Puerto Rico: ICE arrests Ehbrin Castro-Correa for creating, distributing dog fight, animal torture porn videos

PUERTO RICO -- U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents arrested a man March 4 in Rio Grande for the creation of an animal crush video and its distribution in interstate commerce and for sponsoring and exhibiting of an animal in an animal fighting venture.

According to the criminal complaint, Ehbrin Castro-Correa arrived March 4 at the Pan-American Dock in a pickup truck with several dogs inside crates. At approximately 5:45 p.m., HSI special agents observed he placed six crates, each containing a dog, in the luggage drop off area before he presented his boarding pass to board the Caribbean Fantasy Ferry.

Castro-Correa presented documentation showing he was the owner of the six Spanish bulldogs. He then went to check in to board the ferry where he showed the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers a boarding pass. The boarding pass indicated that he was traveling to the Dominican Republic along with pets. The CBP officer referred him to a secondary inspection in which he was subject to a more thorough search of his belongings.

During the inspection, HSI special agents interviewed Castro-Correa who indicated that he was transporting the canines to the Dominican Republic, he was paid $800 to do so and that the canines belonged to someone else.

HSI special agents were able to inspect Castro-Correa’s cellular phone. The cellular phone contained three videos: an original six-minute video of a dog fight and two shorter clips made of that same video.

The six-minute video depicts a fight between two pit bull female dogs and two men are overheard encouraging the canines to fight. Castro-Correa admitted that he filmed the video recording. The two clips of the original video were transmitted in interstate and foreign commerce using WhatsApp.

The criminal complaint further alleges that a search of Castro-Correa’s residence in Rio Grande revealed several man-made cages and pits that did not have any overhead cover exposing the dogs to the elements. The dogs inside the cages appeared to be adult dogs that could barely fit inside the cages.

HSI special agents observed a total 25 dogs, nine of them puppies, in deplorable conditions. Some were chained or tied to a structure while others were caged and/or exposed to the elements with dirty water containers. Most dogs appeared to be pit bulls and some of them had scars in their muzzle areas and faces.

Inside the residence, HSI special agents found a man-made treadmill designed for training dogs, old newspaper articles of dog fights, a bag containing what appeared to be antibiotics, iron and calcium supplements for dogs, dressing compounds and medication that requires the use of syringes along with an open bag containing several syringes.

“One does not have to be a pet lover to condemn animal cruelty,” said Ricardo Mayoral, acting special agent in charge of HSI San Juan. “HSI has distinguished itself for protecting our children from online predators and those who exploit the most vulnerable segment of our society but it's also important to let people know that we will not tolerate animal cruelty as well.

"We will continue identifying, investigating, and with the help of our partners, prosecuting those who show total disregard for animals. It is despicable, it is inhumane and it is against the law.”

The dogs are under the custody and care of the U.S. Marshals Service. The case will be prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mariana Bauzá,

Castro-Correa faces a maximum penalty of up to seven years in prison for the violations.

(US Immigration and Customs Enforcement - March 10, 2016)