DeSantis praises arrest after dog found tied to fence outside Milton

TAMPA — It was a sickening sight that sparked the kind of outrage that animal abuse usually provokes: a white and tan bull terrier partially submerged in a grassy pool of water, its neck tied to a wire fence next to a busy highway. The shaking dog growled and barked as a Florida Highway Patrol trooper approached him last week, hours before Hurricane Milton hit the Tampa Bay area.

Amid the storm’s ensuing devastation, there were calls for justice for the dog, appropriately renamed Trooper.

Those calls caught the attention of Gov. Ron DeSantis, who announced an arrest in the case during an appearance Tuesday at the Falkenburg Road Jail in Hillsborough County.

Giovanny Aldama Garcia, 23, was booked into jail Monday on a charge of aggravated cruelty to animals.

DeSantis mentioned the arrest almost in passing during a news conference in which he exchanged words of praise with local law enforcement officials and discussed efforts to provide financial assistance to first responders affected by the storm. Hillsborough District Attorney Suzy Lopez stood by his side.

“When that poor dog was left out there,” DeSantis said, “we said…we’re going to nail you when we find out who did it.” And that’s exactly what they’re doing here in Hillsborough County with District Attorney Lopez.”

Lopez, who owns two bulldogs – one of which she named Rhonda Santis in the governor’s honor – promised tough consequences.

“You can’t get away with what this man did in Hillsborough County,” she said. “Not under my supervision.”

Aldama Garcia, 23, was released from jail early Tuesday on $2,500 bail.

An affidavit details an investigation that began with a call to the Highway Patrol last Wednesday morning, when Hurricane Milton was just hours away from hitting the Tampa Bay area.

A woman reported the dog was tied to a fence on the right shoulder of the northbound side of Interstate 75, south of Bruce B. Downs Boulevard.

Officer Orlando Morales drove to the area and called for the dog using a portable speaker. About a quarter-mile south of the exit, he saw the dog’s head pop up, the report said.

Video footage that the Highway Patrol later posted on social media shows the dog standing on the side of the road in a puddle of water up to his chest. He noticed fresh tire tracks in the grass nearby. The dog shook, growled and barked as Morales approached.

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“I don’t blame you,” the police officer said to the dog.

The dog ended up in a Tallahassee animal shelter.

Two days later, Aldama Garcia called a Hillsborough County animal shelter and told them he was the dog’s owner, according to the affidavit. He said he would give up the dog if his new owner could love and care for him.

According to the report, Morales later interviewed Aldama Garcia at his home in Ruskin.

Aldama Garcia said the dog’s name is Jumbo. He had Jumbo as a puppy but couldn’t take care of him. He tried unsuccessfully to get rid of him.

He was with his mother, who was driving along the highway during the mass evacuations before Hurricane Milton’s arrival, the report said. She stopped and let the dog out of the car.

According to the arrest report, he described seeing the dog standing in the water during heavy rain and then abandoning it. The report does not detail how the dog was tied to the fence.

He later saw the social media posts about the dog’s rescue and returned to Ruskin to try to claim him.

Lopez pointed out that while Florida law provides for increased penalties for certain crimes committed during the state of emergency, animal cruelty is not one of them.

“I honestly think it should be,” she said. She urged lawmakers to consider changing that.

Lopez, a Republican, is in the middle of a closely watched political campaign against Andrew Warren, a Democrat whom DeSantis suspended from office in 2022, accusing him of neglecting his duties. The governor named Lopez to succeed Warren.

As she seeks a four-year term, Lopez has branded herself as a tough-talking prosecutor who is unabashedly pro-law enforcement. In Tuesday’s news conference, she spoke of witnessing “heroism” while staying with police officers as Milton swept the state. She said she was angered by the stories of those who committed crimes during the storm and vowed they would “pay the price.”

Warren has criticized Lopez’s approach to run the office. He called his suspension illegal and accused DeSantis and Lopez of thwarting the will of the voters who elected him.