QUEENS, N.Y. – A Queens man has been indicted on multiple charges, including animal cruelty, arson, and criminal mischief, for allegedly killing a pit bull and burning its body on a South Ozone Park street in July, District Attorney Melinda Katz announced.
According to prosecutors, the defendant had been entrusted to care for the pit bull, named Square K, a service animal belonging to a relative. Instead, he is accused of killing the dog and setting the body on fire in public. Katz called the crime “unfathomable cruelty,” emphasizing her office’s commitment to pursuing maximum penalties in such cases.
“We have no tolerance for animal abuse in Queens County,” Katz said in a statement. “My office will aggressively prosecute those who beat and torture defenseless animals.” She added that it is time for New York to strengthen its animal cruelty laws to ensure more appropriate punishments.
Katz also highlighted other cases of interest, including the indictment of three defendants accused of sex trafficking a Colombian woman in a Flushing brothel, a driver charged in the fatal construction-zone crash that killed flagger Isabel Alvarez on the Nassau Expressway, and a 16-year-old charged with the murder of a 13-year-old student in South Jamaica.
In addition, Katz announced the hiring of 45 new Assistant District Attorneys representing 22 law schools nationwide, part of her ongoing effort to enhance fairness and community safety in the borough’s justice system.
The district attorney also renewed a call for information in the unsolved stabbing death of Romeo Einstein Acuna, found dead in his Jackson Heights home 23 years ago. “It is never too late for justice,” she said.
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Katz closed her message by noting her participation in the Brandeis Association’s recent event commemorating the October 7, 2023, terrorist attacks in Israel, reaffirming her office’s commitment to combating antisemitism and protecting Queens residents.