A Queens grand jury indicted a Springfield Gardens man for animal cruelty, arson, criminal mischief and other crimes for allegedly killing a pit bull before torching its body on a public street in South Ozone Park in July.
Isaiah Gurley, 29, who lived at the Holiday Inn Express Kennedy Airport on South Conduit Avenue in Springfield Gardens, was arraigned Sept. 30 in Queens Supreme Court on a seven-count indictment charging him with aggravated animal cruelty, reckless endangerment and other charges. The male pit bull, named Square K, belonged to one of Gurley’s relatives. He was a service dog.
“As alleged, the defendant was supposed to be caring for a family member’s dog and instead subjected it to unfathomable cruelty as he killed the pit bull and then set it on fire,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said.
According to the charges, on July 24, at around 9 a.m., an NYPD lieutenant was out on an unrelated assignment when he saw the charred remains of a dog on the street in front of 127-20 116th Ave. in South Ozone Park. The NYPD’s Animal Cruelty Investigation Squad and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) were notified, and an investigation was launched.
Nearby surveillance was pulled and showed Gurley walking into the First Class Deli on Rockaway Boulevard at approximately 4:40 a.m. on July 24, wearing a maroon hooded sweatshirt labeled “Polo.” He was seen picking up a bottle of oil and leaving the store without paying. About five minutes later, Gurley was allegedly seen on video footage dragging an unconscious dog by the leash along 116th Avenue, according to the charges. He then stopped and allegedly used the oil to douse the dog’s body and set it on fire.
The NYPD released images to the public on Saturday, July 26, and just two days later, received a 911 call from someone who spotted Gurley at a Foot Locker in the Queens Center mall in Elmhurst, wearing the same maroon Polo hoodie. Police from the 110th Precinct took him into custody. While being questioned at the stationhouse, Gurley told detectives that he had been taking care of the dog for another person for the last several days. A post-mortem examination by the ASPCA determined the dog was killed before being set on fire and that it suffered a blunt force trauma to the head.
“This dog suffered needlessly, and we have no tolerance for animal abuse in Queens County,” Katz said.
Queens Supreme Court Justice Michael Yavinsky ordered Gurley to return to court on Nov. 18. If convicted, he faces up to 2 ⅓ to seven years in prison.
“My office will aggressively prosecute those who beat and torture defenseless animals,” Katz said. “It is well past time that New York strengthens its animal cruelty law to allow for the appropriate penalties for such abuse.”
