A Florida man was arrested after he was caught on camera “violently beating” his pit bull puppy outside an apartment complex.
In a press release, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office said authorities were called to the Coast Village Apartments in Estero, Florida, on Tuesday evening around 5 p.m. to investigate an animal abuse case.
The caller told authorities that he captured a man, later identified as 20-year-old Beckham McLeod, violently beating his 9-month-old puppy, King.
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While calling police, the good Samaritan began recording the abusive owner.
In the video, McLeod is seen dragging King, stomping on his neck repeatedly and then kicking the defenseless dog in the face.
“While the recording may have stopped, I fear what King went through before and after,” Sheriff Carmine Marceno said.
After being questioned by detectives, McLeod agreed to surrender the puppy to Lee County Domestic Animal Services voluntarily.
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McLeod was arrested on a charge of aggravated animal cruelty.
“As for McLeod, I had a red jumpsuit, orange slides and a cell ready for him at the Marceno Motel,” Sheriff Marceno said.
The sheriff called the good Samaritan a “hero” for making the call to police and helping King get out of an abusive home.
“See it, say it, make the call,” Marceno said. “It works. This caller is a hero. They made the call that got King out of an abusive home.”
“If you abuse an animal in Lee County, you will go to jail… every time,” he added.