Dog kicked, owner choked and beaten
New York, NY (US)Incident Date: Thursday, Apr 14, 2005
County: New York
Disposition: Alleged
Alleged: Dimitri Sheinman
The prime suspect in the murder of Sarah Fox was charged April 14, 2005 with attacking a man and his dog in the same Manhattan park where the Juilliard student was strangled. Dimitri Sheinman, 40, kicked the puffy white pooch, then choked and pummeled its owner, 57-year-old Rene Perez, in Inwood Hill Park, police and Perez said.
"He was kicking me in the back, all over," said Perez, who has a bloody gash over his right eye. "He was screaming, 'I'm innocent until proven guilty!'"
Sheinman was fingered last year by Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau as the "No. 1 suspect" in Fox's murder after he gave detectives details about the crime that had not been publicized, police sources said.
However, authorities say they do not have enough evidence to charge him with the slaying. Fox, 21, an aspiring actress who lived nearby, disappeared after going for a jog in the park last May.
The publicity surrounding the arrest is part of a psychological squeeze on Sheinman as the anniversary of Fox's slaying approaches, sources said.
"The message is, we are going to get you for something," a police source said.
Sheinman's wife, Jane, who witnessed the dog incident, defended her husband's outburst. "Of course there was provocation, of course there was," she said by phone, declining to describe the situation further. "It's such a weird situation. Everything we say gets turned around and misconstrued."
But Perez said he was merely taking his two American Eskimo dogs, Lupa and Meena, for a walk when Lupa began playing with Sheinman's large Rhodesian ridgeback around 10 a.m. Sheinman, who Perez said frequently fights with other dog walkers, became "violently angry." He kicked Lupa, then attacked Perez, the victim said.
"There are a lot of people who have been assaulted by this person, but they're afraid to press charges. I'm not afraid," said Perez, who drives a passenger shuttle.
Sheinman will be charged with third-degree assault, a misdemeanor, and could be tagged later with animal cruelty charges, a source said. References |
