LARGO -- Pinellas deputies arrest a St. Petersburg man on felony animal cruelty charges.
The Sheriff's Office says 66-year-old Domingo Rodriguez killed a four-year-old bulldog mix named Dexter, within a day of adopting it from county animal services last Friday.
Deputies found the dog's decapitated head and body wrapped in a plastic bag at Fort DeSoto Park last Tuesday.
The dog's microchip led them to Rodriguez. Detectives say he told them Dexter must have run away overnight. But he also admitted going to Fort DeSoto Park the next day, and deputies say he gave them several inconsistent statements.
Rodriguez daces a felony animal cruelty charge as well as a charge of improperly disposing of the body of a dead animal. He's out of jail on $5,000 bond.
Photo: Canva/Pinellas County Sheriff's Office