RIVERHEAD, N.Y. (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – A Long Island man was sentenced Thursday to one year in jail, as well as a 20-year ban on animal ownership, after he fatally shot a puppy and paralyzed another dog at his "backyard slaughterhouse," where nearly 100 animals were also found, many sick and injured, prosecutors and animal advocates said.
The sentence was handed down just a week after animal welfare detectives searched the Riverhead property of Carlos Lauro, 76, leading to his arrest.
Suffolk County D.A. Ray Tierney said investigators put together a "solid" case and Lauro's "only recourse was to plead guilty" to the unjustified killing of an animal, which is a class A misdemeanor.
"This kind of cruelty will not be tolerated by my office, nor the people of Suffolk County," Tierney said, "and the swift sentence of one year in jail demonstrates that. Let this serve as a warning to anyone seeking to injure animals."
The investigation into Lauro was launched after a one-year-old German Shepherd named Blitzkrieg was brought to the VCA Veterinary Hospital in Westbury last Wednesday.
Vets determined Blitzkrieg had been paralyzed by a gunshot wound to the head.
Witnesses told authorities that the dog was found lying next to a dead goat in a pen on Lauro's property around 5:30 p.m. that evening.
Detectives from the Suffolk D.A.'s animal safety team, dubbed BEAST, went to Lauro's home, where they learned he'd shot and killed another German Shepherd, a six-month-old puppy named Cranky, last month.
Lauro shot Cranky in the back, and when another resident of the home took the dog inside to console her and treat her wounds, Lauro dragged her back outside and fatally shot her in the head, according to prosecutors.
Detectives from the BEAST team found eight surviving dogs on the property, as well as "numerous" other animals, including goats, pigs, cows, chickens and geese, prosecutors said. Multiple dead animals, including a baby goat and a pig, were also found.
Police returned the next day with a search warrant and arrested Lauro.
John Di Leonardo, an anthrozoologist who's executive director of Humane Long Island, credited law enforcement for tackling the "heinous" case, saying they ensured "animal abuser Carlos Lauro will spend the rest of 2024 in jail and won't be allowed to own another companion animal until he is nearly 100 years old."
He said the animal advocacy organization removed nearly 100 animals from the "illegal backyard slaughter operation" and an adjacent property; among them were "three cows, 10 freezing piglets, a dozen waterfowl, and dozens of sick and injured chickens, sheep, goats, and a bunny."
"The public can save twice as many animals annually simply by going vegan," he said, urging people to visit HumaneLongIsland.org.