Oak Lawn Man Who Threw Dogs Off Parking Tower Paroled From Prison

OAK LAWN, IL — An Oak Lawn man who pleaded guilty to throwing two dogs off a parking tower in 2017 has been released from the Illinois Department of Corrections. Prison officials confirmed that Edward Hanania, now 25, was paroled Tuesday morning from the Pinckneyville Correctional Center in southern Illinois, where he had been serving concurrent sentences for manufacture and delivery of heroin and animal cruelty.

According to the Illinois Prisoner Review Board, Hanania will spend the first 60 days on electronic monitoring with limited movement, after which he is required to report by phone twice of week to the department of corrections, as well as attend scheduled meetings with his parole officer. Hanania must also attend substance abuse classes and undergo mental health counseling. He is prohibited from using drugs or alcohol and may not leave the state. Hanania is also forbidden from having any contact with animals. His sentence is expected to be discharged in January 2022.

On May 21, 2017, two poodles — Guero and Angel — were found on the Advocate Christ Medical Center campus after they had been thrown off the upper level of a parking tower. Guero was found lying dead on the sidewalk. Angel landed in the grass, suffering from broken legs and head injuries. The dog survived and was returned to his family.

It was later learned that the owner had been searching for his dogs after they had gotten out of the yard. The dogs were found by a woman near 55th Street and Troy Avenue in Chicago, who had posted pictures of Angel and Guero on the Lost & Found Cats & Dogs on the South/Southwest Side of Chicago Facebook page.

A man, later identified as Hanania, claimed that the bonded pair of poodles were his dogs. The finder turned the dogs over to Hanania, who gave her a $20 reward. Several hours later, the dogs' real owner stepped forward to say the poodles were his dogs and that he had proof of ownership, including vet records, pictures and video.

After Hanania claimed the dogs, Oak Lawn police said he drove to Christ Medical Center. Police said that security video tracked Hanania driving a Mercedes-Benz up to the fifth floor of a hospital parking tower on Kostner Avenue. Hanania could be seen getting out of the Benz and throwing the poodles off the top floor.

The security video also captured the license plate of the Mercedes, which came back as being registered to Hanania’s 71-year-old father in Oak Lawn. The woman who found the dogs identified Hanania as the man who claimed them. Hanania was arrested at his Oak Lawn residence a few days later. Police said that Hanania made written admissions when he was arrested. He was charged with two felony counts of aggravated animal cruelty.

"We had two angles of entry to the parking garage and the throwing itself," Oak Lawn Police Chief Randy Palmer said. "No doubt it was him."

The crime galvanized dog lovers and animal advocates, who packed Hanania’s court hearings. At the time of his arrest, Hanania was on probation after being convicted in 2016 of selling heroin near an elementary school in Oak Lawn.

Hanania accepted a plea deal in August 2017 after his attorney and assistant state’s attorneys met in Cook County Judge Colleen Hyland’s chambers. He also pleaded guilty to violating his probation, which was immediately revoked. Hanania apologized for his actions to the court.

The judge sentenced Hanania to concurrent sentences of five years for aggravated cruelty and six years for violating his probation, plus two years of mandatory supervision upon his release from the Illinois Department of Corrections.

An Illinois Department of Corrections official said she could not release Hanania’s post-release housing arrangements.

“Most individuals on parole do stay with family and friends,” IDOC spokeswoman Lindsey Hess said in an email. “There are some who stay in a halfway house. All housing placements must be approved by IDOC.”

A notification is sent electronically 30 days prior to the parolee’s release and 15 days prior to release to the county of commitment and the local police department in the city where the offense occurred, Hess added. The Cook County Sheriff’s office also requires those who are convicted of animal abuse crimes to register with the county.