Add The New York Post on Google The ruthless gunman who opened fire on a Brooklyn street – hitting and wounding a service dog for a woman with Down Syndrome – was arrested Tuesday, cops and sources said.
Adrian Benitez, 29, was nabbed around 8:15 a.m. and charged with attempted murder, three counts of assault, criminal possession of a weapon, reckless endangerment and aggravated cruelty to animals, police said.
Benitez is accused of brazenly firing a round during a spat with a man who was talking to a woman on 31st Street near Fifth Avenue, near Greenwood Cemetery, around 5:45 p.m. Aug. 19, law enforcement sources said.
The intended target escaped unscathed – but a stray slug hit 7-year-old Honey, a Labradoodle, the sources said.
Honey – a service dog for Teresa Pezzolla, 64, who has Down Syndrome – was taken to a local animal hospital and miraculously survived.
“The doctors there were able to pull a 22 caliber right out of the dog,” Pezzolla’s nephew previously told The Post.
“I’m thankful that the bullet didn’t hit my aunt because I think it would have been a lot worse.”
The arraignment for Benitez, who has no prior unsealed arrests, was pending Tuesday afternoon.
