FORT MYERS, Fla. (WFLA) — A man has been charged with animal cruelty after police say he moved out of his Fort Myers home and left behind two dogs, one of which died in the July heat.
Lee County deputies went to Jerry Speed III’s home on Seventh Street on July 11 after receiving reports of two dogs left outside in crates without food or water.
According to the sheriff’s office, Speed had moved about two weeks ago.
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Detectives said they found Speed’s two bulldogs, 1-year-old Chloe and 6-year-old Princess, in the home.
Officials said Chloe was already dead. A subsequent autopsy confirmed her cause of death was heat stress and a stroke, authorities said.
Deputies said the princess was found standing in a wooden box filled with brown water and feces. She was later euthanized due to injuries from neglect, the sheriff’s office said.
Officials said temperatures were in the 90s during the weeks the dog was abandoned.
The Lee County Sheriff’s Office worked with the State Attorney’s Office to obtain a warrant for Speed’s arrest. He was already in jail for violating his probation when the warrant was executed this month.
Speed is charged with aggravated animal cruelty and animal abandonment, according to the sheriff’s office.
Authorities said Mr. Speed had been previously convicted of multiple assault charges. He was released in October 2024 after serving six and a half years for fleeing law enforcement in Lee County.
