Delivery Man Beat and Choked Dog for Vomiting in Car: Police

MIAMI BEACH, FL — Sigman Hernandez, a 40-year-old delivery man was charged with animal cruelty on Wednesday in connection with brutally beating and choking his Yorkshire terrier after the dog vomited in his car. The female animal was given the name "Lily" by veterinary staff trying to save her life.

Hernandez, who drives a red Toyota Yaris, surrendered after Miami Beach police released surveillance video on Tuesday of a person of interest that was taken at a Publix parking garage on West Avenue just before the animal was found by a store employee. (Sign up for our free Daily Newsletters and Breaking News Alerts for the Miami Beach Patch.)

The 250-pound Hernandez of the 2600 block of Northwest 16th Street in Miami, was charged with animal cruelty with intent to injure or kill and the misdemeanor offense of abandoning an animal without food or shelter.

Arrest documents said that Hernandez "confessed to slapping and possibly choking his dog because she had vomited in his car. The defendant then admitted to removing his dog from the front passenger floor board of his car and placing her on the garage floor."

The documents also stated that Hernandez "admitted to pushing his dog with his feet while the dog lay on the garage floor. The defendant then abandoned his dog to suffer without providing care and assistance."

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Sigman A. Hernandez courtesy of Miami-Dade Dept. of Corrections and Rehabilitation