Luis Hernandez (Cameron County Sheriff’s Office)
A 20-year-old man who believed his common-law wife was cheating on him is accused of assaulting her and then taking out his anger on one of her puppies, killing it by throwing it against cement, Cameron County sheriff’s authorities said.
Luis Hernandez was arrested early Monday morning and charged with one count of cruelty to a non-livestock animal and assault family violence. His bonds totaled $11,000 and he remained in custody Monday night at a Cameron County jail facility.
According to a probable cause affidavit, a sheriff’s deputy responded to 2705 Dennis Ave. near Brownsville in reference to an assault. When the deputy arrived at the scene, he met up with Hernandez’s 37-year-old common-law wife who told the deputies she had been assaulted by her husband.
The woman said she and Hernandez had been at the beach earlier in the day and that Hernandez had been drinking, the probable cause affidavit said. While the couple was in bed, Hernandez allegedly kicked “her in the buttock area” and started to accuse her of cheating on him.
According to the wife, Hernandez began punching her and she bit him on the finger to get him away from her, the affidavit stated. Hernandez left the home but later returned and began to toss her clothes outside. The couple started to argue again, with the argument leading outdoors, where Hernandez fell down and hit his head on the ground and ended up cutting his head.
The woman claimed at this point during the argument that Hernandez walked over to where she kept her puppies, took one of them and threw it against the concrete pavement, the affidavit stated. The puppy died.
Hernandez was arrested and formally charged on the two counts.
