Overview
- The Hillsborough State Attorney's Office filed a nolle prosequi this week, ending the aggravated animal cruelty case against Giovanny Aldama Garcia.
- An investigative memo said admissible evidence did not establish intentional tying, noting body camera footage showed the dog's collar stuck on a fence and no rope visible.
- Prosecutors said the only witnesses to how the dog was left were the defendant and his mother, and investigators could not find independent evidence to refute their account.
- A Florida Highway Patrol trooper rescued the bull terrier along I-75 during Hurricane Milton evacuations after initial reports the dog was tied, and the animal recovered.
- The dog, now named Trooper, has been adopted by Frank and Carla Spina of Parkland, as the incident helped spur 'Trooper's Law' now in effect, making restraining and abandoning a dog during declared disasters a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.