Convicted felon escapes jail time for animal cruelty

A convicted felon charged with animal cruelty for leaving his dog panting and foaming at the mouth in a car with the windows closed on one of the hottest days of the year got off with six months probation and 50 hours of community service on Monday amid questions about the city’s handling of the case.

Bryan Garcia, described in police reports as a documented member of the Latin Kings street gang, pleaded guilty but avoided jail time after veterinarians at the Commission on Animal Care and Control failed to examine Garcia’s Pomeranian on July 2, when the dog was taken into custody.

The incident occurred at 12:21 p.m. on a day when temperatures soared into the 90s and the heat index approached 110 degrees.

Chicago Police officers responded to a call of animal abuse at 3030 W. 26th St. and saw a black dog locked in a 1999 Pontiac Grand Am parked in a lot with the windows closed. The dog was “foaming at the mouth and panting” while lying on its side beneath the steering wheel, responding officers said.

Police were on the scene for 10 minutes when Garcia arrived and said he “went to get some food” and was “only gone for 20 minutes.”

Garcia was charged with cruelty to animals. The 23-year-old has a rap sheet that includes a 2009 conviction for manufacture and delivery of cocaine and 14 arrests since 2005 that include charges of criminal trespass and theft of property.

When Animal Care takes custody of a dog amid allegations of neglect or abuse, a veterinary examination can provide key evidence.

In Garcia’s case, a veterinary assessment was not conducted until Aug. 5, and only after the state’s attorney’s office requested the examination.

Bill McCaffrey, a spokesman for Animal Care and Control, said no immediate veterinary assessment was conducted because the dog that was panting and foaming at the mouth just minutes earlier “appeared to be fine” when it arrived at the city pound.

“They didn’t need to do anything. The animal was healthy,” McCaffrey said.

Pressed on how a dog that was in obvious distress when rescued could be fine minutes later, McCaffrey said, “That may have been the result of spending time in an air-conditioned police vehicle.”

The Garcia case is not the only one raising questions.

In the case of Derek Fierro, a fourth-grade teacher charged with beating his dog to death, McCaffrey acknowledged that Animal Care’s autopsy — conducted Aug. 12, four days after the remains were brought in — was “inconclusive and did not support claims that the animal was beaten to death.”

At the state’s attorney’s request, the dog’s remains and photographs were forwarded to a specialist at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana for a “second opinion.” That report is still pending.

“Animal Care has followed the proper procedures and has, in no way, jeopardized the investigation or prosecution of these cases,” McCaffrey said.