A 35-year-old West Orlando man is facing a felony charge after surveillance video allegedly captured him strangling a small dog on the 4900 block of Raleigh Street. Officers with the Orlando Police Department's specialized Ranch Unit responded to the scene on July 29, and the case ended with the suspect's arrest more than a week later.
Police identified the suspect as Roger Green II. According to a post from Orlando Police, officers were dispatched to the Raleigh Street address after video surveillance showed a man strangling a small dog. The Ranch Unit, which investigates crimes involving animals and works in rural, developing, and hard-to-reach parts of the city, opened an inquiry alongside Orange County Animal Services, which documented the dog's injuries and behavioral changes following the incident. The block sits in West Orlando's 32811 ZIP code, an area covering the Lake Mann Shores and Richmond Heights neighborhoods that is largely made up of single-family homes, according to Edina Realty.
On July 29, 2026, officers with the Orlando Police Department’s Ranch Unit responded to the 4900 block of Raleigh Street after video surveillance captured a man strangling a small dog.
— Orlando Police (@OrlandoPolice) August 10, 2026
The suspect, identified as 35-year-old Roger Green II, was initially interviewed and cited by… pic.twitter.com/6jTCxqmrup
Green was initially interviewed and cited by Orange County Animal Services, per the department's statement. But the investigation continued, and the Ranch Unit and animal services jointly obtained an arrest warrant for Green. On August 5, Ranch Unit officers located Green at his residence and took him into custody, formally charging him with aggravated animal cruelty. He was later released pending further investigation, police said.
How the Ranch Unit Builds These Cases
The Ranch Unit's mandate covers policing rural and hard-to-access parts of Orlando, and officers in the unit often use utility terrain vehicles to reach areas standard patrols cannot, according to the City of Orlando. That off-road access, paired with routine animal cruelty casework, has put the unit at the center of several recent felony arrests. In a statement, police said the department does not tolerate animal abuse and that the Ranch Unit is dedicated to investigating crimes involving animals and holding those responsible accountable.
Orange County Animal Services played a central role in building the case against Green, a pattern consistent with how the agency typically operates. The county agency enforces local animal codes, runs the county's public shelter, and routinely partners with police departments on welfare investigations, according to OCFL Newsroom. County inspectors and animal control officers are often the ones documenting injuries and assembling the evidence that supports a criminal warrant application, the outlet reported.
What Green Could Face Under Florida Law
Aggravated animal cruelty is a third-degree felony in Florida, carrying up to five years in state prison, five years of probation, and a fine as high as $10,000, per Florida Statute § 828.12(2) as outlined by the Florida Senate. The statute defines aggravated cruelty as intentionally committing an act that results in excessive or repeated infliction of unnecessary pain or suffering. If convicted of intentional animal torment, the law also requires a minimum $2,500 fine and mandatory psychological counseling or an anger management program — statutory minimums a court cannot waive.
Florida's legal landscape around animal cruelty has shifted substantially over the past year. Dexter's Law, enacted in May 2025 as House Bill 255, added a 1.25 sentencing score multiplier for aggravated animal cruelty offenses, increasing the likelihood that convicted offenders serve prison time, according to BillTrack50. The law was named for a shelter bulldog killed shortly after being adopted. As of January 1, 2026, the state also maintains a publicly searchable database of convicted animal abusers through the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, intended to keep convicted offenders from acquiring pets in the future, per Action News Jax.
Separately, state law lays out a civil process for stripping custody from owners accused of mistreating animals. Under Florida Statute § 828.073, officers and county animal control officials who seize a mistreated animal must file a petition in county court within 10 days to determine the owner's fitness for custody, with a hearing required within 30 days of filing, according to FindLaw. It remains unresolved whether such a petition has been filed in Green's case, and the dog's current medical condition and custody status have not been detailed publicly.
Prosecutorial coordination on cases like this one runs through a regional task force. The Office of the State Attorney for the Ninth Judicial Circuit, which covers Orange and Osceola counties, joined a regional Animal Cruelty Task Force in February 2024 to streamline evidence collection and prosecution between animal control and law enforcement agencies, according to WKMG. Whether prosecutors will pursue mandatory counseling or push for prison time under § 828.12 has not been decided.
Part of a Recurring Pattern in Central Florida
Green's arrest follows a string of similar cases across the region this year. Just last month, Hoodline reported that Orlando police arrested a 55-year-old man on aggravated animal cruelty charges after a dog was found shot dead inside a crate in West Orlando, an investigation that began after officers responded to a reported dog bite. Other recent Central Florida cases have involved an emaciated Great Dane mix left behind in an evicted Orlando home, an injured dog dumped behind a Kissimmee shop, and puppies pulled from a filthy Davenport house — all cases that relied on joint work between local police and animal control agencies.
