Pembroke Pines delivery driver accused of throwing elderly dog from truck

Surveillance video showed a delivery driver tossing 13-year-old Nico from the back of a box truck outside a Pembroke Pines shopping center, then finishing a Sedano’s drop-off and driving away without helping the dog. Police identified the driver as Humberto Exposito, 60, of Miami, and prosecutors filed charges of aggravated animal cruelty, abandonment of an animal and confinement of an animal without sufficient air exchange.

The abuse happened around 6:13 a.m. Wednesday, June 24, in the 10300 block of Pines Boulevard. Exposito was making a delivery to Sedano’s supermarket when he hurled Nico several feet to the ground. Nico was an elderly German shepherd with matted hair, signs of malnourishment and advanced hip dysplasia, and Broward County Animal Care took custody of the dog for veterinary evaluation and treatment.

Bond court set Exposito’s bond at $12,000 on June 26, one day after Pembroke Pines police posted the arrest on its press-release page and identified it as an aggravated animal abuse case. Under Florida law, aggravated animal cruelty is a third-degree felony punishable by a fine of up to $10,000, while abandoning a maimed, sick, infirm or diseased animal is a first-degree misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $5,000. Florida law also makes it a felony to abandon a dog restrained outside during a natural disaster.

In Broward, animal-cruelty cases typically begin with a police investigation and felony referral to the State Attorney’s Office, while county animal care staff handle rescue, sheltering and medical care. Broward County Animal Care’s cruelty hotline is 311, or 954-359-1313 and press Option 2 after 5 p.m., on weekends or holidays. For animal-care help in Pembroke Pines, call 954-431-2200; non-emergency police calls go to 954-764-HELP.