Man, woman charged with animal cruelty after pig left in car

Jacksonville police find pig inside vehicle parked at Avenues Mall

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A man and woman were arrested Monday afternoon after a pig was left in a car outside the Avenues Mall, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.

Mark Gray, 20, and Trinity Tavarez-Soto, 19, both of Jacksonville, are each charged with animal cruelty.

According to an arrest report, police found a small, multicolored pig in the back seat of a car parked at the Avenues Mall on Southside Boulevard about 2 p.m.

The Weather Authority said Monday afternoon hit 100 degrees

Miranda Lamendola, who works at the mall, said she and her co-worker called security after noticing the pig was left in the car.

"The car is parked with no A/C. All four windows only have an inch actually cracked, so not even my arm could actually fit through it," Lamendola said.

According to Lamendola, mall security employees didn't have the authority to get into the car without the owner's permission.

"At that point, I called JSO because 45 minutes goes by," Lamendola said. "The pig has no water, has no food and he's freaking out."

When police arrived, an officer broke the car window, the arrest report said. The pig was removed and placed into a patrol car.

That’s when police said Gray and Tavarez-Soto came out of the mall, came back to the car and were arrested.

The pig was taken by Animal Care and Protective Services.

The temperature in the car was taken, but that was redacted from the arrest report.

Jacksonville Sheriff's Office booking photos of Mark Gray and Trinity Tavarez-Soto

About the Author:

Corley Peel is a Texas native and Texas Tech graduate who covered big stories in Joplin, Missouri, Tulsa, Oklahoma and Jacksonville, Florida before returning to the Lone Star State. When not reporting, Corley enjoys hot yoga, Tech Football, and finding the best tacos in town.