Brentwood man strangled dog, threatened relative during video call, Suffolk police say

A Brentwood man was arrested Friday after he allegedly killed a dog while threatening a family member during a video call, Suffolk County police said.

The 23-year-old man found a Chihuahua on May 9 that had escaped from its Central Islip home, police said. After keeping the dog for nearly a month, the man contacted a family member on FaceTime on Tuesday, and strangled the dog to death while threatening his family member during the video call, police said.

The dog was not the family member's pet, police said.

Police said they are not identifying the man because he is undergoing an evaluation for mental health issues.

Detectives investigated the killing and determined the dog's remains were discarded, police said. Police recovered the remains at a waste transfer facility in Holbrook on Friday. A necropsy will be performed, police said.

The man was charged with aggravated cruelty to animals and second-degree aggravated harassment, police said.

The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals assisted in the investigation, police said.

By Craig Schneider

craig.schneider@newsday.comScraigo

Craig Schneider is a Long Island native and Stony Brook University alumnus. He joined Newsday as a general assignment reporter in January 2018 after 20 years at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.