A man faces charges for breaking into his employer's business, beating the man's dog to death and then burying it, authorities in southwest Florida said.
Kevin Joseph Koscielniak, 52, faces charges including burglary of a structure, cruelty to animals and breaking or injuring fences. He was being held on $46,000 on Monday. It wasn't immediately known if he had an attorney.
On Sunday morning, the owner of John's Automotive in Sarasota, couldn't find his dog and called the sheriff's office to report the dog stolen, but at that point didn't want an investigation, according to the probable cause affidavit.
Later, the owner viewed video surveillance from his property overnight and saw Koscielniak, whom he has known for three years, climb over the barbed wire fence and beat the dog for several minutes, authorities said.
"The investigation determined that Koscielniak climbed over the barbed wire fence, killed the dog with a tire iron, wrapped the dog in a blanket, cut the fence to Casey's Auto, an adjacent business, dragged the dog onto that property and burried it there," the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office said.
Koscielniak was an employee who was asked to leave the business on Saturday after causing a disturbance, authorities said
He was caught on video surveillance cleaning the blood, authorities said.
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After a search, the dog was found in the shallow grave on the west side of the lot. The leash and collar were still attached, the affidavit said.
