Shocking moment dog-beating man is taken down by Good Samaritans after they spotted him hitting the animal with a metal chain outside a Florida gas station
- A fight broke out at a gas station in Deltona, Florida, over the way a man treated his dog
- Julio Rivera, 31, was jailed for the treatment of his dog, among several other violent charges
A Florida man is currently behind bars after a crowd of people say he allegedly punched a dog in broad daylight.
Julio Rivera, 31, faces a handful of charges that, in addition to cruelty to an animal, also include child abuse, assault, resisting and officer-involved.
Animal lover Raymon Prush says he saw the violent incident unfold after the dog, who was walking with her owner, “turned his head to sniff a tire,” prompting the owner to yank the dog and throw him “into the to hit your face’. the chain.’
“What I saw yesterday was ridiculous,” Prush said during an interview with a local NBC affiliate WESH2.
When Prush saw what was happening on the side of the road, he said he drove his car to a nearby gas station and confronted Rivera about hitting the animal with a metal chain.
Julio Rivera (center) fights with a Good Samaritan who intervened to stop his alleged abuse of his dog
The pair screamed as the situation escalated.
“Then he started whining (whipping) the dog numerous times,” Prush said.
Rivera allegedly beat the dog “until the chain broke.”
“When that happened, the dog came after me,” he continued.
According to Sheriff Mike Chitwood, the suspect then punched Prush in the face and also physically assaulted several other witnesses who had gathered around the gas station.
Chitwood said that after Prush was punched, a “13-year-old intervened.”
“He (Rivera) swings and tries to hit the 13-year-old. And then another couple manages to get the dog away from him and into their car. He then attacks that couple.’
A clip of the disturbing encounter shows Prush apparently grabbing Rivera and placing him in a “hold” to prevent him from yanking the dog back.
A witness in the police report said of Rivera, “This man should never own or be near an animal.”
Prush said that once the confrontation escalated, the dog “ran in fear.”
“But she…I don’t know how many times she took these blows. It was like she wasn’t defending you from this. She was just receiving,” he added.
The dog was reportedly injured but is expected to recover.
The puppy (center) reportedly ran away in fear after the confrontation between her allegedly abusive owner and several bystanders ended
A bloodied Rivera refused to listen to an officer who arrived on the scene after help was called
Raymon Prush, an animal lover, says he drove his car to a nearby gas station and confronted Rivera about hitting his dog with a metal chain
As of Friday, Rivera remained in jail on $51,000 bond
Sheriff Mike Chitwood said Rivera has had several previous run-ins with police under his belt – for domestic violence and battery
Chitwood said Rivera has had several previous run-ins with the law.
“This man has an anger problem,” he said.
“And you know what, I’m very, very proud of the residents of Deltona who saw what happened. I mean, as young as 13, we knew we had to do something here that could end up dead for this dog.”
Rivera has previous domestic violence and battery charges.
On Friday, he was being held in the Volusia County Jail on $51,000 bond.