Press Release

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Carlo Silva was arraigned today on animal cruelty charges after allegedly injuring his small female poodle by repeatedly throwing the pet down a set of stairs and then dragging the dog back up by the leash. The alleged violence was caught on surveillance footage inside the staircase of the defendant’s residential building.

District Attorney Katz said: “The senseless brutality depicted on the surveillance video in this case is sickening. As alleged, this defendant threw an 8-month-old puppy down the stairs and dragged the animal back up the stairs with its leash 12 times in less than two minutes. Every animal deserves to be treated with care and compassion. The defendant is accused of inflicting great pain and suffering onto a completely defenseless animal and we hold him accountable for the alleged actions.”

Silva, 40, of Astoria Boulevard in Astoria, was arraigned today on a criminal complaint charging him with five counts of overdriving, torturing and injuring animals; failure to provide proper sustenance. Criminal Court Judge Sharifa Nasser-Cuellar ordered Silva to return to court on August 13.  If convicted, he faces up to two years in prison.

According to the charges, on June 2 at approximately 1:00 p.m., an officer with the 114^th Precinct responded to a report of animal cruelty at the defendant’s apartment building in Astoria. The officer reviewed video surveillance footage dated May 31, 2025, from a camera located inside the building, which depicted the defendant yanking the 8-month-old dog named Olivia by the leash, throwing her down the stairs and dragging her back up the stairs as her body thrashed and rolled against the steps. The abuse was repeated 12 times during the one minute and 45 second video.

The same behavior was observed on surveillance footage from approximately 2:55 a.m., 3:00 a.m. and 2:50 p.m. on June 1 and approximately 2 a.m. on June 2.

After viewing the video footage, the officer placed the defendant under arrest.

The puppy was transported to the ASPCA for evaluation and care. According to the forensic veterinarian’s exam that followed, Olivia suffered extensive skin contusions over multiple areas of her body, scabbed wounds on the top of her head and right front leg, a chipped incisor tooth and skin scars along her lower right back. X-ray images revealed a recent fracture of Olivia’s right rib as well as soft tissue swelling of the bone of the front leg. The injuries were found to be the result of recent blunt force trauma and caused the dog to experience significant physical pain.

Assistant District Attorney Justin Bobko, of the District Attorney’s Animal Cruelty Prosecutions Unit, is prosecuting the case under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Nicole Reid, Interim Supervisor of the Animal Cruelty Prosecutions Unit, and Assistant District Attorney Mary Kate Quinn, Bureau Chief of the Domestic Violence Bureau, and under the overall supervision of Executive Assistant District Attorney for Special Prosecutions Joyce A. Smith.