YONKERS – Westchester County District Attorney Miriam E. Rocah announced that Mount Vernon resident Thaddeus Jones was indicted for throwing a 12-week-old puppy to its death on a Yonkers roadway.
Jones, 34, was indicted by a Westchester County Grand Jury for Aggravated Cruelty to Animals, a felony, and two counts of Criminal Impersonation in the Second Degree and Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Seventh Degree, both misdemeanors. The defendant was arraigned on July 7, 2022, and bail was set.
It is alleged that on May 14, 2022, at approximately 7 p.m., Jones was traveling in a vehicle with the driver, the driver’s Pitbull puppy and two other passengers. After the driver pulled over to the side of the road, Jones got out of the car, grabbed the dog from the vehicle and threw it onto Yonkers Avenue in Yonkers. The puppy was killed after it was struck by oncoming traffic. It is further alleged that Jones provided false identification to law enforcement and was in possession of methamphetamine.
The Yonkers Police Department arrested Jones shortly after the incident, following a joint investigation with the Westchester County Department of Public Safety.
The case is before Judge Robert Neary in Westchester County Court, and is being prosecuted by Animal Cruelty Coordinator MaryAnn Liebowitz of the Trials and Investigations Division. Jones is scheduled to appear again in court on July 22, 2022.