Islamorada man arrested for tossing kittens out of moving vehicle, 1 killed

ISLAMORADA, FLA. (WSVN) – An Islamorada man is behind bars after, deputies said, he threw kittens out of his moving vehicle.

According to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, 29-year-old Diego Torres Ruiz was driving a Hyundai Santa Fe near Mile Marker 87 in Islamorada on Nov. 28 when witnesses noticed two kittens being thrown from the vehicle.

That caused vehicles to swerve to avoid hitting the kittens.

Initially, Ruiz was located and denied knowing anything about the kittens. Since the kittens were unable to be located, Ruiz was released.

Later that day, one of the kittens was found dead by a deputy after it appeared to have been struck by a vehicle.

The second kitten ran into the woods but was later located by a Rain Barrel Village employee and taken to MarrVelous Pet Rescue in Key Largo with non-life-threatening injuries.

The person who turned in the kitten adopted it and confirmed to deputies it was one of the ones thrown from the vehicle and identified Ruiz as the driver.

Ruiz was located Thursday and arrested. He has been charged with two counts of animal cruelty.

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