Enrique Salamán Méndez, a 61-year-old man, was arrested and jailed for allegedly throwing a glass container of rum at a poodle named Jackson, causing a wound on the dog's snout. The Department of Justice charged him with animal cruelty, according to Secretary of Justice Lourdes L. Gómez Torres. The incident occurred on Tuesday in the Martín González neighborhood of Carolina.
Prosecutors Juan Domínguez Villegas and Ángel Pérez Sánchez presented charges for animal cruelty and violating Puerto Rico's Weapons Law. Judge Beatriz Varela Ríos found probable cause for both charges and set a $6,000 bond, which Méndez did not post, leading to his imprisonment. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for October 1, 2026. The investigation was led by Agent Frank A.
Badillo Carbonell, in coordination with the prosecutors. Secretary Gómez Torres emphasized that protecting animals is a shared social responsibility and that the law recognizes their well-being, which must be upheld to prevent violent acts against them.