- Florida, U.S.A. -
On Tuesday, April 14, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office arrested 36-year-old JONATHAN LAWRENCE GOLDSTEIN (pictured below) on a felony charge of aggravated animal cruelty.
The Sheriff’s Office received multiple calls from residents of the Santorini at Renaissance Commons complex in Boynton Beach, about an extremely aggressive man hanging a small brown dog over an apartment balcony.
Residents reported that the subject was choking the furbaby and threatened to throw him off the balcony.
The helpless and terrorized 4-month-old, tan Maltese-Yorkie mix named Cinnamon was whimpering loudly while residents watched in terror what was happening in front of their eyes.
WPTV reports that according to the police report, when officers arrived at the scene, one of them saw GOLDSTEIN walking near the AT&T store with “a small brown dog held between his hands as if it was being choked.”
The report also states that: “The dog appeared lifeless and Goldstein refused multiple commands to place the dog on the ground until he saw another officer holding a Taser gun.”
Police questioned the sick male, but he reportedly refused to answer their questions.
Cinnamon’s killer appeared in court Wednesday, April 15.
A judge ordered him to be taken to the South County Mental Health Center to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.
GOLDSTEIN was also ordered not to have contact with any witnesses or domesticated animals.
According to Palm Beach County court records, GOLDSTEIN’s bond was set at $10,000.
Palm Beach Animal Care and Control will perform a necropsy to determine Cinnamon’s death.
