Staten Island man kept two dozen Huskies in squalid trailers on fenced-off lot, prosecutors say
A Staten Island man fed maggot-infested food to two dozen Huskies he kept in two squalid trailers on a fenced-off lot — and he attacked a bystander who was worried about the dogs, prosecutors allege.
Members of the city Sheriff’s Office rescued all but one of the dogs late in July, and on Wednesday, Staten Island prosecutors unveiled a grand jury indictment of Victor Quinteros, 54, on an array of animal cruelty and other charges.
The Sheriff’s Office came calling with a search warrant on July 29, looking to get to Quinteros’ property at the lot on Van Duzer St. near Swan St. in Tompkinsville.
Right away, they saw five Huskies on the loose, running in the lot, according to Staten Island D.A. Michael McMahon.
When they opened the first of two trailers, 10 more Huskies ran out the door, looking for food and drinking from a small children’s pool filled with dirty, foul-smelling water — the dogs’ only water source, prosecutors allege.
The only food available was in large, white buckets that crawled with maggots, prosecutors said.
Under the trailer, sheriffs’ officers found an adult Husky, seven live puppies and one that had died. Inside, the trailer was covered in urine and fecal matter, prosecutors said.
The sheriffs found two more adult Huskies in a second trailer, prosecutors said.
“This defendant neglected to provide basic needs for twenty-four huskies under his care, choosing to heartlessly leave these beautiful creatures in deplorable and unsafe conditions without access to enough food or water,” McMahon said.
The surviving dogs are being cared for by the ASPCA, and Quinteros, who was arrested the day of the raid, remains held on $20,000 bail.
A month before the raid — on June 29 — Quinteros struck and threw liquid at a Staten Island woman who heard the dogs howling and barking in distress and peeked through the fence, law enforcement sources said. He was charged with assault and harassment in that incident.
He’s also accused of damaging a recreational vehicle and other property on the lot that didn’t belong to him, according to the indictment. The lot’s owner is in the process of having him evicted, sources said.
Quinteros told authorities he was running an animal shelter, law enforcement sources said.
Unlike other animal cruelty suspects, he’s still refusing to officially surrender the animals to the ASPCA’s care, and doesn’t consent to them being, spayed, neutered, micro-chipped and given dental care, sources said.
Because Quinteros won’t surrender the dogs, prosecutors on behalf of the ASPCA asked a judge to require Quinteros to post a $40,000 security bond to cover the dogs’ care.
