FORT MYERS, Fla. — Sheriff Carmine Marceno held a press conference at Lee County Sheriff's Office on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. to discuss a recent animal cruelty investigation.
Sheriff Marceno explained that, on June 5, a man left a one-year-old dog in an unattended car with the engine off and the windows up for an hour and a half.
The animal cruelty task force estimated that the car was 130 degrees inside when the dog, a Doberman Pincher named
Sinister, died from heatstroke.
Upon finding the deceased dog in the car, 53-year-old James Russell took the dog and put it in a trash pile.
When the animal cruelty task force found Sinister, they found that the dog's temperature was still 106 degrees.
Deputies took the dog's owner, James Russell, into custody.
Sheriff Marceno is firm in his stance against animal abuse - saying that he will stop at nothing to "protect those that cannot protect themselves."
Watch the press conference below.
