SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Jan. 11, 2020 (Gephardt Daily) — A man was arrested Friday afternoon and booked into Salt Lake County Jail on suspicion of animal cruelty in a case police say occurred in late December.
Daniel Figueroa, 36, was arrested after police received a necropsy report finding that the dog died due to blunt force trauma while in Figueroa’s care. Animal Control officials said the finding was consistent with statements made by a witness and by Figueroa himself.
According to a probable cause statement filed in Salt Lake City’s Third District Court, a witness reported seeing Figueroa slamming the dog into the ground on Dec. 29, the same day the dog died.
Figueroa told police the dog died after he accidentally pulled its leash too hard and caused it to hit its head on a pole.
Figueroa has been charged with torture of a companion animal, a third-degree felony.
