Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Middletown, CT: DOG-DAY AFTERNOON: Man charged with killing Chihuahua appears in court

Published: Wednesday, April 21, 2010

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By WALT GOGOLYA, Press Staff

MIDDLETOWN — A city man accused of killing his girlfriend’s Chihuahua on April 1 finally had his day in court Tuesday.

Victor Serrano, 23, was picked up by the Middletown Police Department’s Street Crime Unit and Major Investigations Unit shortly before 8 p.m. Monday.

Detectives found Serrano in a multi-family building at Liberty and Pearl streets, police said. Serrano was taken into custody without incident, police said.

He appeared in Middletown Superior Court around 1 p.m. Tuesday.

Judge Elpedio Vitale would not reduce the suspect’s $100,000 bond, citing his prior record and his failure to appear in court on April 15, which Serrano’s attorney said was a misunderstanding.

Serrano has prior arrests for unlawful restraint, assault, violation of a protective order and family-violence-related crimes. He returns to court May 5.

On April 1, Serrano, of 1222 Town Colony Drive, allegedly back-handed his girlfriend’s 2-year-old Chihuahua, killing the animal.

When police arrived on the scene, they found a dead dog wrapped in a blue blanket. Photographs were taken of the dog as evidence, according to the report.

Serrano told police that the dog had been barking non-stop while inside its cage. He thought letting the animal out would stop the barking.

As the dog emerged from the cage, Serrano told police it bit him on the hand, although police saw no visible signs of a bite mark, according to the arrest report.

Serrano was so angered by the bite, he allegedly smacked the dog in the neck area and sent it flying into the apartment wall. The dog landed on its side and its four legs tensed up. The dog began to shake and then died, according to the report.

At that point, Serrano called his girlfriend to tell her the news, according to the report.

Walt Gogolya can be reached by e-mail at wgogolya@middletownpress.com.

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