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June 18, 2019 Staff Report
A Woodside man who beat his girlfriend’s Shih-Tzu to death and then dumped its body in a nearby parking lot last year was sentenced to six months in jail today.
Brando Henriquez, 24, pleaded guilty last week to aggravated animal cruelty and tampering with physical evidence.
Henriquez, as part of his sentence, has also been banned from owning animals for 10 years and must register with the New York City Department of Health as an animal abuser.
Henriquez beat and killed the dog at his girlfriend’s Broad Channel residence on July 15, after being put in charge of looking after it while his girlfriend went out. He then placed the dog in a white plastic bag and dumped it in a parking lot–while hiding the fact from his girlfriend.
When his girlfriend returned home, she wondered why the dog had vanished. Henriquez told her he didn’t know what had happened to it and that it must have run out of the house, according to the charges.
His girlfriend put up ‘lost dog’ posters in the area hoping that the dog—called Lavonia– would be found alive. However, days later, his girlfriend’s mother and brother discovered the dog’s remains in a white plastic bag at a parking lot several blocks east of her residence.
When police investigated the incident, they secured video footage of Henriquez leaving his girlfriend’s residence carrying a white plastic bag containing a lump on July 15. Additional footage was captured of Henriquez walking with the bag in the direction of where the dog’s carcass was found.
The police conducted a necropsy on the dog, which found it in an advanced state of decomposition consistent with it dying around July 15. The dog also had four rib fractures due to blunt force trauma.
“The defendant in this case intentionally killed his girlfriend’s dog and then callously left the animal’s battered corpse in a nearby parking lot. This dog was part of the family and a resident of Queens County, where we will not stand for violence and cruelty against anyone, including our four-legged companions,” said John M. Ryan, acting Queens District Attorney.
Henriquez’ sentence comes just weeks after Jose Tox, 27, was sentenced to six months jail for stabbing and killing a dog on 39th Avenue in Woodside.
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20 Comments
You had better keep your mouth shut about how you ended up in prison Brando! Because those guys in prison may have broken the law! But you will find that almost none of them would ever harm someone’s pet dog. Especially a small family dog like Lavonia, that was part of that family!
He only got 6 months? Wow
They obviously followed that lead.
In this new age in Sunnyside and many other heavily dense ex classified as mentally disordering communities people respect and treat dogs and animals better then other human beings.. You see the new liberals and other deranged animal lovers believe a dog or an animal are equivalent to having a baby and raising a a young boy or girl. Something happened in your life similar to missing a train, car or boat and it’s the only substitute you will accept because you are selfish and anti family beyond that point. The denial and guilt eat you up and therefore you swing heavily towards the masses of your own breed. I love animals and you should never beat an animal or in this case kill a dog but this gets more attention then a dead baby found in a shelter supported and pushed by your elected community leaders. WAKE UP!!!!!!!
There really isn’t any reason not to treat both animals and human beings with kindness. Even conservatives can and should do so. You’re the one who needs to “WAKE UP!!!!!!”
Only Sunnyside you say???
Nooo. Dude that’s everywhere now.
Totally agree! Human life is equal 2 dog life. People care more about dogs than humans.
Yup. But if the ASPCA finds an animal being abused or neglected that animal gets removed the same day. A child… Gets to stay with the abusive and neglectful parents for literal years while CPS ‘works’ with the family. It’s bs. The children are future tax payers! They should be treated with more respect than an animal.
You 20 downvoters want children to remain in abusive and neglectful environments???
I made it to “heavily dense ex classified as mentally disordering communities” (?)
I never leave comments, but I’m compelled to today. Children and animals are defenseless against a grown human being, and both deserve protections under the law. To judge the depth of someone’s love for an animal shows shallowness and shortsightedness. We have a family, including a human child, and a dog. The love for our dog, while maybe different from our child, is no less than. I’m sorry that you are incapable of experiencing this for yourself. “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” For anyone who knows the person who committed this grossly inhumane act … I fear for people in his life. He allowed his girlfriend to search for her dog knowing fully what he had done. That is sociopathic. He should not just be serving (a far from just) six months in jail, but needs serious psychological treatment as well.
Exactly. Which is why I question CPS in keeping children who are in abusive and neglectful environments for literal years with the parents while CPS “works” with the families. ASPCA finds one animal being abused or neglected and they remove the animal that same day.
2 sides to every story, feel bad for the kid.
hUH?
What in the world is two sides to every story???
I’m sorry what would the other side of this story be? The tiny dog initiated the fight? The dog was blackmailing him maybe? He killed this dog because doing so would somehow save the life of another? I am just trying to figure out how there is a side to this story that doesn’t involve killing a small dog for no reason. A dog that was loved by its family, whom trusted this person and allowed him to stay in their home. Because I wasn’t there but it seems to me like an angry and volatile person got annoyed at the yapping of a small animal and kicked it to death.
What kid? He was 24!
I know the kid I definitely feel bad
6 MONTHS?? That’s an act of kindness, he should’ve received more than a year at the very least. We’re talking about murder.
I know him too and I definitely don’t feel bad. The guy was a lunatic.
I hope he rots in jail.
NYPD says he was a crip, saw the dogs red bandana, and though he was a blood