Man Who Blew Dog's Face Off with Fireworks Caught with More Fireworks: Cops

A Joliet man who enticed a pit bull to pick up a lit firework so it would blow off the dog’s face last month was caught with even more fireworks while he was driving around the east side Wednesday night, police said.

Nicholas Garcia, 24, was pulled over near the corner of Jackson and Chicago streets. When he rolled down his window, police said, an officer smelled marijuana and saw bits of weed on a passenger’s lap. The officer also reportedly noticed Garcia slipping something into the car’s center console.

That something turned out to be a few baggies of marijuana, police said. An officer then searched the car and found Red Dahlia and Nitro Bomb fireworks, police said.

Just last month, Garcia was arrested on charges of criminal damage to property for allegedly using fireworks to kill a pit bull. He and another man were lighting off the fireworks in a Jackson Street alley when the pit bull picked one up, police said. The firework reportedly went off in the dog’s mouth, killing it.

Garcia intentionally and repeatedly tossed the fireworks so the dog would chase them and pick them up, police said.

The man lighting fireworks in the alley with Garcia will not be charged in connection with the pit bull’s gruesome death, according to a police source.

Garcia was less than remorseful about the dog’s demise, according to a screenshot of his Facebook page posted by a Patch reader.

“Lightin off the rest of my fireworks n the rerarded neighbors that dont know how to put their dog on leash or keep it fenced in decides to chase a boom stick and lost its head…..NOW they care about their dog,” Garcia’s post said, according to the screenshot.

Garcia appeared in court for his arraignment the day before his most recent arrest.

Garcia was also arrested on an armed robbery charge when he was 17 years old, according to court records. He pleaded guilty, was sentenced to seven years in prison and was released three years later.

The pit bull was worth more than $300, according to the criminal complaint filed against Garcia. The owner of the $300 pit bull reportedly witnessed his dog’s death.

After his arrest for allegedly killing the dog, Garcia kept himself out of the county jail by posting a $5,000 cash bail when he surrendered at the Joliet Police Department. He was free on bond at the time of his Wednesday night arrest on charges of possession of fireworks and possession of marijuana.

This time, Garcia was released on his own recognizance.