North Miami man accused of punching dog 10 times, abusing dogs in crate

NORTH MIAMI, Fla. – A witness caught a North Miami man abusing his dogs in two separate videos and called police, leading to his arrest on Thursday, authorities said.

North Miami police said Juan Pablo Gaviria Arce, 22, punched his dog 10 times, but initially claimed the video only showed him hitting a stuffed animal. Authorities said he would later tell the truth.

Police said they became aware of the abuse on Tuesday and went to Gaviria Arce’s apartment in the 300 block of Northeast 125th Street to investigate.

A May 1 video showed him “grabbing his dog, lifting it into the air and punching the dog with a closed fist 10 times,” an arrest report states.

“According to the witness, the dog could be heard yelping from a block away,” police wrote.

The second video, taken on Tuesday, showed Gaviria Arce holding a broomstick with two dogs locked inside of a crate, police said.

In that clip, police said he “sticks the handle of the broomstick through the wire and shoves it into the body of the two dogs four separate times.”

The witness again heard the dogs yelping from a block away, the arrest report states.

Police said they went back to Gaviria Arce’s apartment on Thursday and brought him to North Miami police headquarters for questioning.

Gaviria Arce, police said, “originally claimed that the dog that was being punched was a stuffed animal.”

“He later admitted that it was in fact one of his dogs and that he let his anger get the best of him,” the report states. “(He) also claimed that the incident with the broom was due to the two dogs fighting inside the crate, however, once shown the video, (Gaviria Arce) admitted that using the broomstick was ‘unnecessary.’”

Police said his actions caused the dogs “repeated and unnecessary pain,” leading to his arrest on two felony counts of animal cruelty with intent to injure or kill.

Jail records show that the Colombian national was being held in the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center on a $5,000 bond as of Thursday evening.