Animal Cruelty Charges Dropped Against Fla. Man Accused of Abandoning Dog During Hurricane Evacuations By Nicole Acosta

Prosecutors have dropped an animal cruelty charge against a Florida man who was accused of tying his dog to a fence as Hurricane Milton approached the state and residents were ordered to evacuate, citing a lack of evidence.

Giovanny Aldama Garcia, 24, of Ruskin, Fla., will no longer face trial in November after the Hillsborough State Attorney’s Office withdrew the felony charge against him this week, WUFT-FM, Fox 13 and WKRG reported, citing a memo.

A spokesperson for the Hillsborough State Attorney’s Office tells PEOPLE in a statement that the charge was dropped due to insufficient evidence, including the fact that the dog was not intentionally tied to the fence as initially stated in the arrest report and 911 call from October 2024.

“The responding Florida Highway Patrol trooper who bravely saved the dog told us in depositions that the dog’s collar appeared stuck to the fence,” the spokesperson wrote on Monday, Oct. 20.

“There was no rope, chain, or tie present as was originally reported through a 911 call and the original report. That fact is an important factor in the aggravated animal cruelty charge. When we learned that new information, we could not ethically move forward with those charges.”

On Oct. 9, 2024, troopers with the Florida Highway Patrol said in a post on X that they “rescued a dog left tied to a pole on I-75.” The post shows video footage of the dog barking and shaking as floodwaters reached the dog’s chest. After the rescue, authorities located its owner, Garcia, and charged him with aggravated animal cruelty, the news outlets reported.

According to the spokesperson, Garcia never admitted to tying the dog to a fence. In sworn depositions, he said the dog got scared during the evacuation and ran off. Garcia further said the dog became aggressive in the car, prompting him and his mother to pull over. During the chaos, the dog fled, and Garcia said he tried but failed to catch him.

“The failure to locate the dog who allegedly ran off during an emergency evacuation is not a crime,” the spokesperson says of filing a lesser charge of animal abandonment. “We have no witnesses, video, or any other evidence to refute their testimony.”

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.   

After the incident went viral, Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill called Trooper’s Law. It took effect in May 2025 and makes it a third-degree felony to restrain and abandon a dog outdoors during a declared natural disaster or at any time in which a mandatory or voluntary evacuation order is in effect.

The dog, named “Trooper,” has since been adopted into a new family, according to the Leon County Humane Society.