WINTER GARDEN, Fla. – A Winter Garden man was arrested on animal cruelty charges on Wednesday after police say he threw a Chihuahua against a wall, killing the dog.
Yavall Leath, 31, was arrested just before 10 p.m. Wednesday after police say he picked up his cousin's dog, named Speedy, by its neck and threw the dog at the wall after the dog wouldn't stop barking, according to the police report.
Police said two children, ages 5 and 7, were at home to witness their cousin come over and kill their dog.
"I am trying to get over it, you know," said mother of the children, Dianca Maxey.
Maxey said Speedy is really her grandmother's, but she grew fond of him and says her cousin went too far.
"They say respect is due to a dog at the end of the day," Maxey said. "If you kill a dog, you will kill anything."
Police said they found Leath walking on Center Street, where he yelled at them "I hope the b**** is dead."
Leath, who was previously arrested in a stabbing, was arrested and booked into Orange County jail after refusing to tell officers what happened.
"I don't think he meant no harm, he is like anybody else, things happen," Leath's mother told Local 6.