An immigrant living in Brooklyn, New York was reportedly arrested and released after he allegedly threw a 2-year-old pit bull off a 14th-floor balcony.
According to the New York Post, Luis Gabriel Santamaria, 27, came home on Nov. 1 and found his pit bull, Kith, lying dead on the sidewalk. His “new friend,” Alberto Morris, 33 had stormed into his apartment at 5 a.m. during a spat and threw the dog off a balcony in an apartment building.
“I had him since he was a baby, since he was 1-month old. He was literally my best friend,” Santamaria told The Post.
“I never would have thought he would do what he did, murder my dog for no reason,” he added.
NYC migrant allegedly throws pal’s beloved pit bull off 14th-floor balcony — and walks free: ‘Murdered my dog for no reason’ https://t.co/PTZ1GIMmPs pic.twitter.com/VAEfiwvwoR
— New York Post (@nypost) November 22, 2024
Morris was reportedly arrested last week and charged with aggravated cruelty to animals, grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property, criminal mischief and torturing an animal, per the Post (via NYP):
He has no prior arrests and was released following an arraignment earlier this week, as his charges are non-bail eligible under state law, meaning he can’t be held behind bars unless convicted.
“I have PTSD from this thing,” Santamaria said.
“I still walk around these streets turning my head, because I don’t know what this man can do. I don’t know him long enough to know that could happen.”
Santamaria said that he had met Morris a few weeks prior. The two men reportedly bonded over their shared Panamanian heritage. Morris reportedly immigrated to the US last year.
Reportedly, Morris quickly became aggressive and obsessive, sending Santamaria strange text messages and showing up at his home and ringing the doorbell for hours on end.
The night of the incident, the two men had gone to a Halloween party where Morris got drunk and aggressive.
“That scared me,” Santamaria said. “At one point, when he was getting too aggressive, he grabbed my bag — I had a little side bag — and ripped it off my body. We were shoving each other, I didn’t know what was going on, and without me noticing, he grabbed my keys from my bag.”
Security threw Morris out of the party. Then, Santamaria realized that Morris had his apartment keys. He quickly arranged a ride home and told his friends to ensure Morris didn’t break into his apartment.
However, Morris had allegedly killed the dog and tried to rip a Ring security camera off the wall as he fled.
Morris pled not guilty at his arraignment and was released without bail.
“I’m really curious as to why he’s a free man after he did what he did. I don’t think any kind of murderer should be left anywhere outside of jail.”