Target: Melinda Katz, District Attorney, Queens County, New York
Goal: Secure the maximum prison term, fines, and a permanent animal-ownership ban for the individual who allegedly dragged and burned a pit bull’s body.
A passerby watched in horror as a man was apparently seen dragging a motionless brindle pit bull into the roadway before soaking the animal with an accelerant and setting it alight. Witnesses stated that flames engulfed the dog as it lay in the street in the early-morning hours, leaving a charred body when police arrived. Officers later arrested a 29-year-old suspect after a shopper recognized clothing matching surveillance images. Authorities have charged him with aggravated cruelty to animals, arson, and multiple counts of torture and neglect.
Investigators are now awaiting necropsy results to learn whether the dog was still alive at the moment of ignition or had already died. Either scenario reflects extreme brutality: the animal was apparently denied food, beaten, or otherwise mistreated before being discarded and burned like trash. The suspect’s past violent arrest record underscores the potential danger of releasing him with minimal penalties.
New York law allows felony-level sentences for aggravated cruelty, but courts often impose probation or short jail terms. A case this gruesome demands more. A strong sentence—including the statutory maximum behind bars, heavy restitution to animal-welfare agencies, and a lifetime prohibition on keeping animals—will demonstrate that the justice system values the lives of companion animals and will not tolerate such depravity.
PETITION LETTER:
District Attorney Katz,
Officers say they found a pit bull’s burned remains on a Queens street after a man dragged the lifeless dog from a residence, poured an accelerant over the body, and set it on fire. Surveillance images and eyewitness accounts led to a swift arrest, and the defendant now faces multiple felony charges of aggravated cruelty, arson, and animal torture.
The cruelty described—whether the dog was still breathing or not at the time of ignition—represents an extraordinary level of violence and disregard for life. Setting an animal alight in a public space also endangered bystanders and responding officers. Such conduct erodes the community’s sense of safety and humanity.
We respectfully urge your office to prosecute this case to the fullest extent authorized by law. Please seek the maximum prison sentence, substantial fines or restitution covering shelter and investigative costs, mandatory mental-health evaluation and treatment, and a lifelong ban on owning or residing with animals. A decisive outcome will help deter future acts of cruelty and affirm that brutality toward animals is a grave crime deserving serious consequences.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo credit: Jonathas Cardoso
