Idiot Who Did Donuts on Frozen River Indicted for Drowning of Dog

In the early hours of March 1, Andrew Mayer of Toms River, N.J., somehow thought it was a good idea to drive his truck out to the middle of the frozen Toms River and do donuts (drive around in tight circles). He brought along Rolo, his 2-year-old Boxer/Lab mix.

When his truck crashed through the ice, Mayer managed to crawl out of it, but he could not pull Rolo from the cab.

The U.S. Coast Guard, New Jersey State Police, local police and other responders spent 10 hours — and hundreds of thousands of dollars of taxpayers’ money — searching for the truck. They finally found it the next morning, with Rolo’s body inside.

In addition to criminal mischief, careless driving and pollution charges, the New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NJ SPCA) charged Mayer with one count of third-degree failure to provide proper care by recklessly endangering an animal’s life.

Today, four months after Rolo’s death, Mayer was indicted for third-degree animal cruelty in the death of his dog and third-degree criminal mischief for causing a substantial interruption in public emergency services, according to a news release from the Ocean County prosecutor’s office.

His acts “purposely, knowingly or recklessly failed to provide necessary care for and protection of his dog, Rolo, from harm by driving his pickup truck onto the frozen Toms River, and as a result, the vehicle cracked through the ice and his dog died,” the news release states.

“Mayer then failed to notify authorities of this incident when he got safely to shore, resulting in a huge rescue operation that took place for hours involving the United States Coast Guard’s aviation unit, the New Jersey State Police aviation unit, NJ State Police/local marine units, multiple local police departments, fire companies and first aid squads from Toms River, Beachwood, Pine Beach and Island Heights.”

The most Mayer faces is up to five years in state prison for each charge.

Mayer’s supporters insisted he did his best to get Rolo out of the truck.

“He did almost kill himself trying to save his dog,” his cousin’s fiancée, Helecia Morris, told NJ.com March 3. “He’s completely devastated. His truck, his dog — everything is in this bay.”

One week later, the Asbury Park Press reported that Mayer appeared in a Toms River municipal courtroom, where Judge Damian G. Murray read the charges against him.

At that time the judge offered Mayer a public defender, but just as Mayer had made the brilliant decision to do donuts on a frozen river, he decided he will instead represent himself in court.

“Just so you understand, you have third-degree charges against you, which could carry substantial penalties in these matters, as well as a criminal history that could follow you for a considerable period of time,” Murray warned him, according to the Asbury Park Press.

Along with that criminal history, Mayer has had 14 traffic violations and 12 suspensions of his driver’s license.

No, Mayer insisted, he would “absolutely” represent himself. The prosecuting attorney will be Ocean County Assistant Prosecutor Heidi Tannenbaum-Newman.

Mayer was released today on his own recognizance to appear in court on a future date, according to the Ocean County prosecutor’s office.

Photos via Twitter; Twitter

Animal Cruelty Charge for NJ Man Whose Dog Died in Submerged Truck

In addition to the criminal mischief, careless driving and pollution charges he’s already facing, the New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NJ SPCA) has charged Andrew Mayer of Toms River, N.J., with one count of third-degree failure to provide proper care by recklessly endangering an animal’s life, according to the NJ SPCA Facebook page.

Just before midnight on Feb. 28, Mayer drove his truck out to the middle of the frozen Toms River and did donuts (drove around in tight circles). He brought along Rolo, his 2-year-old Boxer/Lab mix.

When his truck crashed through the ice, Mayer managed to get out, but could not get Rolo out of the cab. After local police, the New Jersey State Police and the U.S. Coast Guard spent 10 hours — and hundreds of thousands of dollars of taxpayers’ money — searching for the truck, they finally found it the next morning, with Rolo’s body inside.

Mayer’s supporters insist he did his best to get Rolo out of the truck.

“He did almost kill himself trying to save his dog,” his cousin’s fiancée, Helecia Morris, told NJ.com. “He’s completely devastated. His truck, his dog — everything is in this bay.”

The Asbury Park Press reports that Mayer appeared in a Toms River municipal courtroom today as Judge Damian G. Murray read the four charges, which will now be sent to the Ocean County prosecutor’s office. Those officials will decide if Mayer will be indicted on the charges.

The animal cruelty charge (4:2217(c)(2)(3)) could result in a maximum fine of $1,000 and/or up to six months of jail time.

The judge offered Mayer a public defender, but just as he had made the brilliant decision to do donuts on a frozen river, Mayer decided he will represent himself in court.

Besides a criminal history, Mayer’s driving history includes 14 traffic violations and 12 suspensions of his driver’s license.

Nope, he would “absolutely” represent himself, Mayer insisted.

‘Why Didn’t the Dog Do the Doggie Paddle?’ — Sgt. Thomas Yannacone

Meanwhile, about seven miles east of Toms River, Sgt. Thomas Yannacone of the Seaside Heights Police Dept. is still under investigation after posting offensive comments about the case on Facebook last week.

“Why didn’t the dog do the Doggie Paddle?” the police officer wrote in one comment. “And was he listening to Van Halen’s ‘Diver Down’ just before going thru the ice? These are the questions I want answered !!!”

And, later:

“Truck plunging thru the ice with a dog inside brings a whole new meaning to FROZEN WEINER or DIRTY WATER DOG. What, to [sic] soon, calm down u animal loving freaks…just be glad it wasn’t a cat because that would have been one WET PU….!!!!!!”

The investigation concerns Yannacone’s possible violation of the police department’s social media policy — not the tasteless comments he made.

Photos via Facebook

NJ Cop Investigated for Cold Comments About Dog Left to Die in River

Last Saturday night, non-brainiac Andrew Mayer of Toms River, N.J., thought it would be a great idea to drive his truck out to the middle of the town’s frozen river and do donuts (drive around in tight circles). He brought along his dog Rolo, a 2-year-old Boxer/Lab mix.

Hee-larious? Sgt. Thomas Yannacone of the Seaside Heights Police Dept., about seven miles east of Toms River, apparently thought so.

“Why didn’t the dog do the Doggie Paddle?” the police officer wrote in a Facebook comment. “And was he listening to Van Halen’s ‘Diver Down’ just before going thru the ice? These are the questions I want answered !!!”

Wait, there’s more:

“Truck plunging thru the ice with a dog inside brings a whole new meaning to FROZEN WEINER or DIRTY WATER DOG,” Yannacone wrote in another post. “What, to [sic] soon, calm down u animal loving freaks…just be glad it wasn’t a cat because that would have been one WET PU….!!!!!!”

Sgt. Thomas Yannacone, ladies and gentlemen!

Because of these comments, Yaccacone is now being investigated — not for his unfunny, offensive jokes, but for violating the department’s policy regarding social media posts.

“In accordance with our procedure for handling citizen complaints, we have opened an administrative internal affairs investigation,” Chief Thomas Boyd said in a statement today, according to NJ.com. “We are required to conduct a thorough and impartial investigation and we anticipate that it will take the next few weeks to do so.”

The policy stipulates that “while employees have a right to maintain personal web pages and websites, their status as a member of the Seaside Heights Police Department requires that the content of those web pages and websites not be in violation of existing agency policy or directives or create a potential conflict of interest.”

Yaccacone will remain on duty during the investigation.

Mayer, who until now has held the title of Loser of the Week, insists he did his best to get Rolo out of the truck.

“He did almost kill himself trying to save his dog,” his cousin’s fiancée, Helecia Morris, told NJ.com yesterday. “He’s completely devastated. His truck, his dog — everything is in this bay.”

Rolo was one of a litter of puppies Mayer’s cousin’s dog gave birth to shortly before Hurricane Sandy in 2012. (Apparently smarts don’t run in this family — spay and neuter your pets, people!)

Mayer was charged yesterday with criminal mischief, careless driving and pollution, according to NJ.com. The New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NJSPCA) is currently investigating Rolo’s death, and animal cruelty charges are pending.

Photo via Facebook

Idiot Doing Donuts on Frozen River Leaves Dog to Die in Submerged Truck

MARCH 3, 2015 UPDATE: Andrew Mayer was charged today with criminal mischief and careless driving, according to NJ.com. Animal cruelty charges are pending for leaving his dog Rolo, a 2-year-old Boxer/Lab mix, in the cab.

Andrew Mayer will very likely win a Darwin Award one day — the dubious honor given to someone who “significantly improves the gene pool by eliminating themselves from the human race in an obviously stupid way.”

Tragically, in the meantime, Mayer’s dog had to die last night due to his owner’s obvious stupidity.

Mayer, 27, of Toms River, N.J., thought it would be a good idea to drive his truck, with his Boxer mix and a friend, Daniel Jolly, in the cab with him, to the middle of the town’s frozen river and do donuts (i.e., drive around in tight circles).

A witness saw the truck spinning around about 100 feet from shore and then suddenly disappear. Authorities were notified.

For more than 10 hours, local police, the New Jersey State Police and the U.S. Coast Guard spent what a police source told NBC New York was “hundreds of thousands of dollars” searching for the missing truck. The truck — with the dead dog inside the cab — was finally found and recovered late this morning.

Mayer and Jolly turned themselves in today.

Jolly claims he told Mayer not to do donuts, and got out of the truck before it fell through the ice. Mayer was able to get out of the truck before it sank, but said he could not get his dog out, so he left him there to die.

“You’re young and stupid, so you don’t think about these things, there were times when there were 300 cars out there,” Jolly’s uncle, John Fackenthal — who said he’d done the same thing — explained to WABC.

“In the ’70s, cars used to go across all the time,” Chad Krean, who watched the recovery of the truck, told APP.com. “You were a big shot if you made it to Seaside.”

It’s bad enough that these people want to risk their lives to become “big shots.” When the urge to be an idiot strikes, they really need to leave their dogs (who are probably smarter than them) at home. And they should stay home with their dogs.

Mayer and Jolly were released, but the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office is considering filing criminal charges against them. The New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NJSPCA) is also investigating the dog’s death, according to the Shore News Network.

Photo via Twitter