Suspect arrested in deaths of man’s dogs
By BRIAN STANLEY bstanley@stmedianetwork.com October 1, 2012 1:54PM
Updated: November 3, 2012 6:12AM
JOLIET — A 19-year-old man who allegedly killed his boyfriend’s dogs and left them in a suitcase while pretending to help look for them has been arrested after six months on the lam.
Leandre D. Blackman was transferred into the Will County Jail early Saturday after being picked up on warrants in another jurisdiction. Blackman has been charged with two counts of aggravated cruelty to animals and two counts of cruelty to animals.
On March 23, “Roscoe” and “Honey,” Chihuahua mixes went missing and Blackman reportedly helped the owner put up fliers before an argument ensued and the man kicked Blackman out of his Joliet home. As Blackman was moving, he reportedly crashed a stolen car into two vehicles in Montgomery and fled the state before he could be charged.
He then left several texts and voicemails for the pet owner to “look in a suitcase under the stairs” and taunted him about the dead dogs, police said.
In June, Joliet police obtained a warrant carrying a $100,000 bond for Blackman’s arrest.
In November 2010, Blackman was arrested on battery charges after he allegedly touched a girl inappropriately at Bolingbrook High School.
