A Joliet man who allegedly enticed a neighbor's dog to pick up a lit firecracker that went off in the its mouth has turned himself in to police, Joliet Deputy Chief Ed Gregory said.

Nicholas A. Garcia, 24, 259 E. Jackson, was arrested on two counts of criminal damage to property after he went to the Joliet Police Department and turned himself in on the outstanding warrant for his arrest.

He was released on $500 bail, which he paid at the station.

Police initially charged Garcia with felony aggravated cruelty to animals following the July 7 incident, in which the dog had to be euthanized by police officers after losing its lower jaw and part of its upper jaw in the explosion.

The charges were changed by the Will County State's Attorney's Office to one misdemeanor count and one felony count of criminal damage. It's possible prosecutors thought they wouldn't be able to prove the action was done deliberately, Gregory said.

Both the police charge and the prosecutor's charge are Class 4 felonies so the penalty of up to four years in prison remains the same if Garcia is convicted.

Gregory added that he wasn't sure that a Facebook post Garcia allegedly made about the incident, suggesting it was the owners' fault the dog died because they didn't keep it on a leash or fenced in, could be used in the case. Garcia has since removed his Facebook page.

According to published reports, Garcia wrote:



“Lightin off the rest of my fireworks n the rerarded neighbors that dont know how to put their dog on leash or keep it fenced in decides to chase a boom stick and lost its head…..NOW they care about their dog.”

According to police reports, Garcia and another man were lighting firecrackers in the alley behind a house at 257 E. Jackson St. when they noticed that the neighbor's pit bull was attracted to them. They allegedly kept throwing them closer to the dog until it finally picked one up and it exploded in its mouth, the reports said.

The incident was witnessed by the dog's owners, and the two men fled the scene, reports said.

No information on the second suspect was available Monday.

Contact Karen Sorensen at Karen@TheTimesWeekly.com.