Florida man arrested for leaving dog tied to fence during Hurricane Milton 

A Florida antheral has been arrested and charged with aggravated carnal cruelty aft helium allegedly near his canine tied to a obstruction up of Hurricane Milton‘s landfall successful the authorities past week.

The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles announced the charges connected Tuesday.

The authorization said the dog, present known arsenic “Trooper,” was abandoned on Interstate 75 successful Tampa arsenic residents were evacuating up of the hurricane. By the clip Trooper was discovered by a road patrol cause who received a tip, the canine was trapped “in flood waters up to his chest.”

Florida’s Highway Patrol Troop shared bodycam video of the canine to X connected Oct. 9. In the footage, Trooper’s achromatic caput is seen poking from down a grassy elevation adjacent the highway.

As helium approaches, the serviceman tin beryllium heard reassuring the dog, who barks and growls from his spot lasting successful the heavy puddle.

An affidavit for the incidental said tying the canine to the obstruction enactment him successful “extreme information and hazard of death” and “caused excessive unnecessary infliction of symptom and suffering to the dog.”

State troopers launched an probe to find who abandoned the canine by the roadside.

Giovanny Aldama Garcia, 23, of Ruskin, Fla., was subsequently arrested and charged with felony aggravated carnal cruelty connected Monday. He told constabulary helium abandoned his dog, primitively named Jumbo, portion helium was travelling to Georgia due to the fact that helium couldn’t find accommodation for his pet.

Garcia could look up to 5 years successful situation if convicted. He has not commented publically connected the incidental oregon his arrest.

According to jailhouse records, Garcia was released Tuesday connected US$2,500 (about C$3,400) currency bond.

The affidavit alleges Garcia travelled to the Hillsborough County Animal Shelter 2 days aft Hurricane Milton’s landfall. He reportedly showed a structure clerk immoderate photos arsenic impervious that helium owned Trooper.

Trooper was not astatine the shelter, but was alternatively being housed astatine the Leon County Animal Shelter. When a Leon County structure worker contacted Garcia, helium allegedly said helium would “surrender ownership” of the canine if Trooper would alternatively beryllium paired with a loving foster family.

In a connection to Facebook, the Leon County Animal Shelter said Trooper was sent to “a fantastic household who has breed experience.”

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“In this location helium volition proceed to decompress and bask each the bully things successful life,” the enactment wrote. “His foster parents volition larn much astir him and person his champion interests astatine heart.”

The probe is ongoing.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis connected Tuesday said Trooper was adopted by a household successful Tallahassee.

“We said astatine the time, you don’t conscionable necktie up a canine and person them retired determination for a storm, wholly unacceptable, and we’re going to clasp you accountable,” DeSantis said during a quality conference. “We said you’d beryllium held accountable, and you volition beryllium held accountable.”

Hurricane Milton landed successful Florida arsenic a Category 3 tempest connected Oct. 9 and near a way of demolition crossed a wide swath of the peninsula. The hurricane smashed done coastal communities and tore homes to pieces, flooded streets and spawned a barrage of deadly tornadoes.

At slightest 24 radical person died arsenic a effect of the storm.

FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell past week said Milton was not arsenic destructive arsenic officials had feared, but still caused “significant damage to a level that Floridians person not seen from tornadoes.”

— With files from the Associated Press