The Bobster
Senior News Editor since 2004
Nabbed in fatal torching of pit bull
BY RICHARD WEIR
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Wednesday, July 25th 2007, 4:00 AM
Derick Phanord
A Long Island man was behind bars yesterday for allegedly pouring bleach and gasoline on his pet pit bull mix and setting the dog on fire while it was chained to a tree.
The 2-year-old dog, dubbed Maximus by veterinarians because of his will to live, succumbed to his injuries July 16, five days after a passerby stumbled on the whimpering, badly charred dog tethered to a tree along a paved pathway in the woods of a Brentwood development.
News of the dog's plight and his subsequent death sparked a public outcry last week and resulted in the Suffolk SPCA posting a $20,000 reward leading to the capture of the dog's killer.
Residents placed roses and plastic flowers on the spot where the dog was found. After flyers seeking information about the crime were posted in the neighborhood, tips led detectives to zero in on Derick Phanord, 22, of Cocoanut St.
Suffolk cops said they nabbed Phanord around 9 p.m. Monday while he was driving his car with a suspended license and an illegal police baton in the backseat.
"He said he just snapped. He told us it was biting his other dog and attacking his family," Suffolk County Police Commissioner Richard Dormer said of Phanord, who was being held on $50,000 bail following his arraignment yesterday on a felony charge of aggravated cruelty to an animal. Pharnord faces up to two years in prison if convicted.
The dog, which suffered second- and third-degrees burns on his face and over 60% of his body, was given to Phanord several months ago by a friend, cops said.
Chief Roy Gross, head of the Suffolk SPCA, said the dog appeared friendly and wagged its tail when his officers approached it while it lay bandaged and clinging to life at a West Islip animal clinic.
"The dog did not appear to be a fighting dog," he said.
"How depraved can you be to take gasoline and pour it on a chained pet and then light that pet on fire?" said Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy, who announced a three-point plan to combat animal cruelty.
Levy said he would call on the private sector to contribute money to increase the rewards in unsolved cases of animal abuse. He also said he plans to assign a detective in each Suffolk police detective squad to investigate cases of animal torturing, as well as lobby legislatures to increase the penalties in such crimes.
"It turned my stomach," Levy said while holding up a photo of Maximus.
Neighbors said Phanord, who according to cops has prior arrests for marijuana possession and harassment, was always in trouble with police.
"He's a cruel kid. He'd be in his backyard shooting at birds and squirrels with a BB gun," said Ron Regal, 70, who lives alongside Phanord.
BY RICHARD WEIR
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Wednesday, July 25th 2007, 4:00 AM
Derick Phanord
A Long Island man was behind bars yesterday for allegedly pouring bleach and gasoline on his pet pit bull mix and setting the dog on fire while it was chained to a tree.
The 2-year-old dog, dubbed Maximus by veterinarians because of his will to live, succumbed to his injuries July 16, five days after a passerby stumbled on the whimpering, badly charred dog tethered to a tree along a paved pathway in the woods of a Brentwood development.
News of the dog's plight and his subsequent death sparked a public outcry last week and resulted in the Suffolk SPCA posting a $20,000 reward leading to the capture of the dog's killer.
Residents placed roses and plastic flowers on the spot where the dog was found. After flyers seeking information about the crime were posted in the neighborhood, tips led detectives to zero in on Derick Phanord, 22, of Cocoanut St.
Suffolk cops said they nabbed Phanord around 9 p.m. Monday while he was driving his car with a suspended license and an illegal police baton in the backseat.
"He said he just snapped. He told us it was biting his other dog and attacking his family," Suffolk County Police Commissioner Richard Dormer said of Phanord, who was being held on $50,000 bail following his arraignment yesterday on a felony charge of aggravated cruelty to an animal. Pharnord faces up to two years in prison if convicted.
The dog, which suffered second- and third-degrees burns on his face and over 60% of his body, was given to Phanord several months ago by a friend, cops said.
Chief Roy Gross, head of the Suffolk SPCA, said the dog appeared friendly and wagged its tail when his officers approached it while it lay bandaged and clinging to life at a West Islip animal clinic.
"The dog did not appear to be a fighting dog," he said.
"How depraved can you be to take gasoline and pour it on a chained pet and then light that pet on fire?" said Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy, who announced a three-point plan to combat animal cruelty.
Levy said he would call on the private sector to contribute money to increase the rewards in unsolved cases of animal abuse. He also said he plans to assign a detective in each Suffolk police detective squad to investigate cases of animal torturing, as well as lobby legislatures to increase the penalties in such crimes.
"It turned my stomach," Levy said while holding up a photo of Maximus.
Neighbors said Phanord, who according to cops has prior arrests for marijuana possession and harassment, was always in trouble with police.
"He's a cruel kid. He'd be in his backyard shooting at birds and squirrels with a BB gun," said Ron Regal, 70, who lives alongside Phanord.