LEESBURG, Fla. – A driver not wearing his seatbelt got pulled over but it’s his passenger who was arrested for two felonies, and then found to have a warrant for a deadly case of animal cruelty.
“I asked for the passenger’s name,” a sheriff’s deputy in Florida wrote on Jan. 19, and, “he had an active Palm Beach County warrant for his arrest in reference to animal cruelty.”
The Lake County deputy started to detain Michael Roman Tkacz and noticed something unusual.
“It should be noted that he was acting very fidgety,” the deputy continued, “by reaching around to the back of his pants and waistband while being handcuffed.
“I conducted a pat down for weapons before placing him in the back of my vehicle. Once the warrant was confirmed, I took Michael outside of my patrol vehicle to conduct a full search of his person.”
Something in the car had reportedly changed during that short period of time.
“While Michael stepped out of my vehicle,” the deputy wrote, “I observed a noticeable amount of white powder substance on the side of the seat where Michael was sitting.
“It should be noted I vacuumed my vehicle out yesterday and have not had an arrest today, nor has anyone went in my backseat.”
The powder eventually tested positive for cocaine.
Then, the deputy continued, “I attempted to find a baggie inside my vehicle and Michael spontaneously uttered, ‘you guys aren’t stupid the baggie is between the seats.’
“I then located a small baggie between my seats, and I collected the small white cake-like rocks I gathered from the seat, as well as from the side of my seat.
“Michael advised [the driver] drove him to a house nearby to purchase the ‘dope.’ He advised he uses the dope for his back pain.”
Tkacz was charged with possession of cocaine and tampering with physical evidence. His bond was set at $5,000, but he won’t go anywhere because of the warrant.
Back on May 30, 2023, a Boynton Beach police officer went to a veterinarian’s office to investigate “suspected animal abuse” that occurred the day before.
The vet called the cop to say a client brought her dog “for emergency treatment related to ‘head trauma.’ The dog was presented with ‘potential head trauma following an incident in the bathtub at home, approximately 30 minutes prior to presentation.
“[The client] told staff that she believes the dog may have tried to bite her boyfriend,” the police affidavit continued, “and her boyfriend may have grabbed the dog, resulting in the dog hitting its head in the bathtub. [The client] told staff that immediately following the incident, the dog appeared ‘to be blind and has been wobbly.’”
Then Tkacz, the boyfriend, showed up and “told staff ‘there was no trauma event prior to presentation.’ [He] stated the dog ‘may have dunked under the water at one point,’ but he ‘otherwise did not have any event to explain the clinical signs.’ Staff stated [the] boyfriend appeared impatient and agitated, and he ultimately left the hospital while [the client] stayed with her dog.”
Long story short, “[The vet] recommended multiple possible life-saving treatments; however, [the client] declined treatment due to a lack of financial resources. [The vet] offered euthanasia as an option to prevent further pain and suffering, and/or the likely imminent death of the dog. [The client] declined euthanasia and took the dog home against the advice of hospital staff.”
But she brought the dog back the next day and another vet “noted the dog was ‘passing away from brain herniation;’ thus, the decision was made to ‘help the dog pass with euthanasia solution to end its suffering.’”
The dog, named Brady, was a four-year-old white/black/brown neutered male Shih Tzu-Papillon mix weighing 11 lb.
Officers went to the client’s home and reported her “extremely distraught over the loss of her dog, but she willingly agreed to speak.
“When [she] realized I was investigating the cause of the dog’s death,” one officer wrote, “she immediately broke down crying, stating, ‘it was in the bath, it wasn’t on purpose, he slipped, he (her boyfriend) would never.’ While still sobbing, [she] continued to defend her boyfriend, adding, ‘it was just an accident, I wasn’t even in the room, but I know he wouldn’t harm (the dog).’”
She provided a sworn statement along with Tkacz’s phone number, and “several photographs and videos in support of her belief that Tkacz would never harm her dog.”
The affidavit said Tkacz told cops, “He was bathing the dog in the bathtub and ‘it slipped and hit its head.’ Tkacz expressed sympathy for [the owner’s] loss but he did not elaborate any further. At my request, Tkacz agreed to come to the police station the following morning to provide a formal statement; however, he failed to do so and numerous attempts to reach him via phone were met with negative results.”
But he called back the next day, “stated he received my messages, but after further consideration, he is reluctant to speak with me. Tkacz stated, ‘I feel like you’re trying to build a case against me.’”
Later, “Tkacz added, ‘I’m not trying to avoid you, I’m just busy and work a lot.’ I advised Tkacz that I would like to speak with him and I told him I would accommodate his schedule. Tkacz stated he would call me back to schedule a meeting; however, he failed to do so.”
In July, authorities learned a necropsy performed by Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control “confirmed the dog died as a result of brain hemorrhage stemming from severe (‘powerful’) head trauma,” and, “The severity and multitude of the injuries are not consistent with the description of the event as told by Tkacz.”
Authorities found probable cause to charge Tkacz with felony cruelty to animals, and the arrest warrant was issued in September.
No word when Tkacz, 34, will head south to face the charge, considering he’s facing two felonies where he is.
As for the driver, last month, “He advised it is a habit not to wear his seatbelt,” the deputy wrote.
It turned out to be an old habit.
The driver didn’t get a ticket that day, but he was busted for not wearing his seatbelt in 2019. That case went to collections and he eventually paid $173.75 for the violation.
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