LEE COUNTY - Investigators have tracked down the man who tossed a puppy into a trash can and the incident was all caught on camera.
A week after seeing himself on Fox-4 news, that man has contacted authorities He claims he did nothing wrong. In fact, he says he thought he was being helpful.
While his explanation of exactly what happened is keeping him out of serious trouble but some are not buying it.
We now know that man’s identity, nearly two weeks after surveillance video showed him tossing a puppy into the trash.
A Lee County Animal Services report states he is 38 year old Tommy Knight from the small town of Branford, Florida.
According to the report, Knight admitted he threw that black lab puppy in the garbage at Love's Truck Stop in North Fort Myers.
Managers of that truck stop kicked us off the property, not wanting us to interview their customers.
Some we spoke with at another truck stop say there's no excuse for what Knight did.
Truck driver Butch Smith tells us, "Throwing it in the dumpster is not the right thing to do with it. It's not something that should have been done, that's for sure. There's a way to dispose of it and putting it into the trash isn't it."
Knight told investigators he found the puppy's dead body on the ground behind Love’s service center in the blind spot of the 16 surveillance cameras on the property.
He then stopped his truck, put the dog's body in the catwalk behind the cab of his truck before pulling up to the gas pumps and dumping the pups body into a trash can.
As a result, Knight was slapped with a civil citation for the improper disposal of a dead pet.
We also found knight has a prior criminal record.
In 2009, Knight was charged with burglary, grand theft auto and trafficking stolen property.
Knight's latest brush with the law may not land him in court this time, but many viewers have already judged him in the court of public opinion.
Our investigation generated hundreds of online comments from people who say they're disgusted by Knight’s actions.
Knight will also have to pay a $300 dollar fine.
He tells investigators when he found the dead puppy it was wearing a collar and a harness but they didn’t find any tags.
So far, no one at the truck stop has reported a missing dog.
