Legislation enforcement officers in New Jersey have arrested a person who, they declare, inspired a pair of “pit bull-type” canines to assault and kill a red-tailed hawk and a cat for movies that he then posted on social media.
On Tuesday, New Jersey Lawyer Normal Matthew J. Platkin introduced the arrest and charging of Ibn Lloyd, 38, of Newark, on costs associated to the creation of those social media movies together with costs associated to the alleged operation of a managed substance manufacturing facility and different drug and weapon offenses.
In an announcement on the arrest, Platkin stated Lloyd has been charged together with seven others — Aniyah Arrington, 24, Kenneth Benbow, 64, Jose Thornton, 49, Darrell Bullock, 67, Darryl Mitchell, 57, and Terrance Herring, 32, all of Newark, and Cornelius Utley, 48, of Bloomfield — who’ve been charged with a wide range of drug offenses.
“In the course of investigating drug trafficking in the city of Newark, law enforcement officers also uncovered evidence of extraordinary animal cruelty,” stated Platkin, in an announcement on the arrests. “Diligent police work resulted in our charging this defendant for those acts, as well as for serious drug and weapons offenses. This case shows the importance of the hard work our law enforcement partners do to keep all our communities safer.”
Based on an announcement from Platkin’s workplace, these arrest come after police found a video on social media, in December of 2024, that appeared to indicate a juvenile red-tailed hawk being attacked by a pair of canines.
Within the video, officers stated, a person’s voice may be heard encouraging the canines to kill the hawk because the animals struggle, resulting in one of many canines being attacked and “the hawk’s talons grab onto one of the dog’s faces, after which the dog yelps loudly, and there appears to be blood on the hawk’s feathers.”
An investigation into this video, Platkin’s workplace stated, revealed that Lloyd was, allegedly, the creator of the social media accounts the place the video was posted.
Officers stated that, investigators additionally decided that Lloyd, allegedly, owned each of the canines seen within the video, his voice was the one heard within the video and the enclosure seen within the video was situated at his residence alongside the 400 block of South sixth Avenue in Newark, New Jersey.
Later that very same month, officers stated, a video that confirmed a cat hiding beneath a dumpster as a pair of canines have been inspired to “get it” was posted to the identical social media accounts that investigators declare Lloyd used.
In that video, the canines can later be seen carrying round, what gave the impression to be, a useless cat, police stated.
Nevertheless, previous to the invention of those movies, Platkin’s workplace stated police have been investigating a drug visitors operation at two properties situated alongside the 400 block of South sixth Avenue — together with Lloyd’s residence — and one other property situated alongside the 400 block of Jelliff Avenue.
This investigation, which spanned from November of 2024 by Could of 2025, allegedly uncovered crack cocaine, packaging supplies, paraphernalia, firearms — together with a nail gun long-established to appear to be an computerized weapon — a bulletproof vest and ammunition, which resulted in gun costs in opposition to Lloyd, police stated.
Lloyd is at present detained by police after making his preliminary court docket look on Could 19, 2025, officers stated.
