JACKSON HEIGHTS — A man who slammed his girlfriend's Chihuahua on the floor during a fight with her pleaded guilty Wednesday to animal cruelty charges, the first conviction under the Queens District Attorney's Animal Cruelty Prosecutions Unit, officials said.
Carlos Hernandez, 33, of Jackson Heights, was fighting with his girlfriend at her Forest Hills apartment on Jan. 10 when he ripped the dog out of her arms, the DA said.
He threw the 3-year-old dog to the apartment floor, and it bled from its ears and collapsed. The dog died a few minutes later.
The girlfriend's daughter, who is 11, was home at the time, the DA said.
"Such acts of aggression toward animals cannot — and will not — be tolerated," DA Richard Brown said.
The conviction is the first under the Queens DA's Animal Cruelty Prosecutions Unit, which was established in January 2016.
Hernandez pleaded guilty to aggravated cruelty to animals along with robbery, criminal mischief, endangering the welfare of a child, grand larceny and other charges.
He will be sentenced in September to 60 days in jail, four years of probation and will have to register with the New York City Department of Health as an animal abuser once his jail time is done.
He will also be blocked from purchasing or adopting a pet at city shelters, rescue groups or pet stores, the DA said.
His lawyer declined to comment.
