Man in dog cruelty case sentenced to three years in prison

The horrifically abused pit bull mix was dubbed Samsonite because he had been stuffed, badly burned, into a suitcase and then tossed into a dumpster like trash.

But it was one of the little white dog’s tormentors who was sent packing.

Earlier this month, a judge in Bell County sentenced Alex Soto Cruz to three years in prison for what he did to the seven-month-old pup in November of last year.

As for Samsonite, his luck has turned for the better.

He was nursed back to health at Hood County’s Second Chance Farm, where animals with physical challenges are found new homes or live the remainder of their lives on the farm with dignity and love.

Cruz and his former roommate Keishaw Rodriguez Aquino were indicted by a Bell County grand jury on charges of cruelty to a non-livestock animal, a third-degree felony. At the time of their indictment, both men were 23.

The men were accused of burning Samsonite, shooting him in the head with an air rifle and then discarding him into a dumpster.

Each posted a bond of $90,000.

Aquino has not yet had his day in court. Granbury attorney Jeremy SoRelle, who has represented Second Chance Farm on matters pro bono, said that prosecutors believe he may have fled to Puerto Rico.

According to SoRelle, this is what happened to Samsonite:

The men sprayed the dog with some kind of flammable material, possibly hairspray, then set him on fire. They then placed the badly burned dog in a suitcase and put the suitcase in a closet, leaving him there for a couple of days.

After one of the men noted that the suitcase had developed a foul odor, they took it, with Samsonite still inside, and threw it into a dumpster behind a Dollar General store in Killeen. That was on Nov. 16, 2021.

A store employee spotted the suitcase and called law enforcement after noticing a bad smell and hearing the cries of a dog.

The suitcase had a name tag on it.

Officers tracked down the owner of the suitcase. He told them that he had left it behind in an apartment he had shared with two roommates.

He said that the roommates had a small white dog.

SoRelle said that when officers located the two men, one of them “just confessed to everything.”

Sandi Walker, founder of Second Chance Farm, attended the bench trial and testified about the suffering that Samsonite endured.

SoRelle was there, too, along with 27 supporters who wore “Justice for Samsonite” T-shirts.

Walker told the Hood County News that for two weeks after Samsonite was rescued, his wounds were treated by a person who had worked for Animal Control and as a veterinarian technician.

He needed long-term care, though, and on Dec. 1, Walker received a call from an investigator who asked if she could take Samsonite.

She said that one of her volunteers picked up the dog that day, and he was at Second Chance Farm that evening.

The medical treatment he received there included hydrotherapy and red-light therapy.

“It was painful. And he would scream,” Walker stated.

Walker posted about the trial on Second Chance Farm’s Facebook page.

She praised the store employee whose call to law enforcement saved Samsonite’s life and she commended the assistant district attorney whose powerful closing argument detailed the dog’s suffering.

“We know (he suffered) because we tended to his wounds daily and heard his cries,” Walker posted. “No more. His body has healed but he has lots of scars to tell his story. So now Sam lives comfortably at the farm. He loves people when he should hate them.”

Walker encouraged others to get involved.

“Don’t just turn away,” she posted. “If you see animal cruelty, you can even anonymously turn someone in. (Animals) can’t fight back or talk to report it. Samsonite is one of the lucky ones. Scrumbags like (his abusers) need to know that this won’t be tolerated.”