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Deputies: Florida man brutalized, baked dog

Vicasso Lara in custody.
Posted at 1:46 PM, Apr 04, 2020
and last updated 2020-04-04 13:53:28-04

LEHIGH ACRES, Fla. (AP) - A Florida man was charged with torturing and killing a dog that he later baked in an oven late Friday.

Vicasso Lara, 24, stabbed and beat the dog before placing it in an oven and heating it to its highest setting, the Lee County Sheriff's Office said in a press release posted on its Facebook page.

"I'm speechless," said Sheriff Carmine Marceno. "This is possibly the most brutal and horrific example of animal abuse my team or I have ever seen."

Deputies were called to Lara's home by a neighbor who said he was making threats. They found pools of blood outside and bloody footprints leading inside, where the dog was found in the oven.

Investigators say Lara stabbed and bludgeoned the dog. He was being held in the county jail without bond Saturday. Jail records didn't list a lawyer for Lara.