A Nassau County man faces four counts of felony animal cruelty after neighbors say he put his pets in the trash compactor.
Deputies said Phu Tran tried to kill all seven of his animals.
Three survived.
MORE: Nassau County man accused of placing animals in trash compactor
Neighbor Steve Belson said he saw Tran put the animals in the trash compactor, so he ran across the street and pushed the emergency stop button.
“I saw him come out with a pet carrier. I saw a white bunny in there and he threw it in there,” said Belson.
“Like, what the -- really? You’re putting animals in a dumpster?” This neighbor tells me he pushed the emergency stop button after Phu Tran put 7 pets in a trash compactor. Only 3 survived. Next at 10 on FOX30 @ActionNewsJax pic.twitter.com/mP3pI2zSdm
— Jenna Bourne (@jennabourneWTSP) April 5, 2018
Belson said he snapped a picture of Tran’s car after he put the animal cages in the trash compactor.
“Like, what the -- really? You’re putting animals in a dumpster?” said Belson.
The Nassau County Sheriff’s Office said a guinea pig and three birds died.
One bird and two rabbits survived.
A neighbor tells me he snapped this pic of Phu Tran's car after he saw Tran put caged animals in the trash compactor. Hear how that neighbor tried to save the 7 pets at 10 on FOX30 @ActionNewsJax https://t.co/AoOLrKDhVD pic.twitter.com/dCxgyO6251
— Jenna Bourne (@jennabourneWTSP) April 5, 2018
An employee at Nassau Club Apartments told the Sheriff’s Office that Tran had recently gotten a letter from the complex fining him $800 for having animals in his unit that were not allowed.
“If he wanted to get rid of them, we have shelters. We have animal shelters. Take them over there,” said Belson.
Tran was arrested at a Fernandina Beach shopping center.
Nassau County Animal Services took the surviving animals to a local veterinarian’s office to be treated.
Cox Media Group
