On July 7, Westchester County District Attorney Miriam E. Rocah announced that Mount Vernon resident Thaddeus Jones was indicted for throwing a 12-week-old puppy to its death on a Yonkers roadway.
Jones, 34, was indicted by a Westchester County Grand Jury for Aggravated Cruelty to Animals,
a felony, and two counts of Criminal Impersonation in the Second Degree and Criminal
Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Seventh Degree, both misdemeanors. The defendant
was arraigned on July 7, 2022, and bail was set.
It is alleged that on May 14, 2022, at approximately 7 p.m., Jones was traveling in a vehicle with
the driver, the driver’s Pitbull puppy and two other passengers. After the driver pulled over to the
side of the road, Jones got out of the car, grabbed the dog from the vehicle and threw it onto
Yonkers Avenue in Yonkers. The puppy was killed after it was struck by oncoming traffic. It is
further alleged that Jones provided false identification to law enforcement and was in possession
of methamphetamine.
The Yonkers Police Department arrested Jones shortly after the incident, following a joint
investigation with the Westchester County Department of Public Safety.
The case is before Judge Robert Neary in Westchester County Court, and is being prosecuted by
Animal Cruelty Coordinator MaryAnn Liebowitz of the Trials and Investigations Division. Jones
is scheduled to appear again in court on July 22, 2022.
The charges against the defendant are merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed
innocent unless and until proven guilty.
