Oak Lawn Man Held On $350K Bond For Animal Cruelty Charges
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Bond is set at $350,000 for an Oak Lawn man accused of throwing two toy poodles off the top of a parking garage at Advocate Christ Medical Center on Saturday.
CBS 2's Mai Martinez was in court Tuesday as the man faced the judge, as well as a courtroom full of animal lovers, including Kirstie Knaeble
Knaeble, and others, said they were very satisfied with the bond set for Edward Hanania, the 22-year-old charged with two felony counts of animal cruelty.
His lawyer, Chuck Ingles, said he's a full-time student who lives at home. "He's suffering back there. He's troubled. He was pacing; he was very nervous and upset."
Oak Lawn police say Hanania falsely claimed he owned the two poodles that were found wandering near 55th and Troy Friday. In court, prosecutors said Hanania gave the woman who found them a $20 reward and took the dogs. Then on Saturday, prosecutors say he dropped both dogs off the fifth floor of the hospital's parking garage.
One dog, a four-year-old, died. The other, a 14-month-old named Angel, survived, but suffered a broken leg and bruised lungs.
"He actually said he didn't do it," Ingles said. "He's not the person that actually did it, but he went ahead and signed a confession."
In addition to the confession, police say they also have surveillance video of the incident.
"If you can hurt animals, and you can do this without any remorse, what are you capable of" Knaeble said.
A spokesperson for the Cook County Sheriff's Office said Hanania will not be bonding out because the charges constitute a violation of his parole for a prior felony drug charge conviction. Therefore, he has to have another bond court hearing for that [felony drug] case; it is scheduled for Thursday.
Angel the dog underwent surgery Tuesday to place pins in his leg. At last check, he was recovering well.