FORT MYERS, Fla. (WFLA) — A man has been charged with animal cruelty after deputies said he moved out of his Fort Myers home and left behind his two dogs, one of which died in the July heat.
Lee County deputies went to Jerry Speed III’s home on 7th Avenue on July 11 after receiving reports of two dogs that had been left outside in crates with no food or water.
According to the sheriff’s office, Speed had moved out about two weeks earlier.
Detectives said they found Speed’s two bulldogs, 1-year-old Chloe and 6-year-old Princess, at the home.
Chloe was already dead, officials said. A necropsy later confirmed her death was from heat stress and stroke, according to authorities.
Princess was found standing inside a crate filled with brown water and feces, deputies said. She was later euthanized due to injuries stemming from the neglect, according to the sheriff’s office.
Temperatures had been in the 90s in the weeks the dogs were abandoned, officials said.
The Lee County Sheriff’s Office worked with the State Attorney’s Office to obtain an arrest warrant for Speed. He was already in jail for a probation violation when the warrant was served this month.
Speed is charged with aggravated animal cruelty and animal abandonment, according to the sheriff’s office.
Authorities said Speed has previously been convicted on multiple violent charges. He was released from prison in October 2024 after serving six and a half years for fleeing from law enforcement in Lee County.
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