Man Strangled ' Terrified' Pitbull To Death In San Francisco: DA

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — A man accused of strangling his pitbull to death has been charged with one felony count of unlawfully killing an animal, prosecutors said.

Authorities say Charles Wentworth, 46, strangled his pitbull "Smokey" in public on Monday morning in the 400 block of China Basin Street.

Witnesses saw Wentworth aggressively pulling and choking Smokey by its leash and lifting it off the ground, where its paws were in the air, according to the San Francisco District Attorney's Office.

At some point, Smokey went limp, collapsed and became unresponsive, prosecutors said.

Wentworth then dragged Smokey's body around until officers arrived at the scene shortly before 11:30 a.m., prosecutors said.

"Officers found Smokey deceased with his tongue protruding from his mouth," prosecutors said in a statement Wednesday. "Witnesses reported the dog appeared terrified before the incident."

Wentworth was detained at the scene, and following an investigation, officers developed enough probable cause to arrest him on suspicion of animal cruelty, police said.

Animal Care and Control responded to the scene and took the dead dog to conduct an independent investigation, police said.

"Violence and cruelty towards animals are unacceptable," San Francisco Police Department Acting Commander Chris Del Gandio said in a statement Monday. "This is an extremely disturbing incident that was witnessed by our community and our officers acted swiftly to locate the suspect and place him under arrest."