- April 19, 2024
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Angel Roman, 28, was the brother of a friend. He’s now in jail for cruelty to animals.
Angel Roman was like family, according to Ydaliz Suarez. Suarez’s husband, Edward Veras, was friends with Roman’s brother. When Flagler and Volusia Support Services Owner Robert Rollins approached them, he reviewed Roman’s history: He was developmentally disabled and had behavior problems, but he should be OK with his medication. He was also about to become homeless.
So Suarez and Veras agreed to rent Roman a room to him in March. But two months later, what Suarez considered an act of service became a nightmare.
Roman, 28, who was already on probation and had a history of domestic violence, allegedly bit the lips off one of Suarez’s kittens and burned its whiskers with a lighter. After being taken into custody May 20, he was evaluated under the Baker Act and then jailed May 26 under a charge of animal cruelty. (The Baker Act is a state law that allows for an involuntary mental evaluation up to 72 hours of a person who is in danger or is putting others in danger.)
At first, when Roman moved in, things appeared to be working out. Rollins facilitated the arrangement, and Suarez ensured that Roman took his medication at 8 p.m. every day.
But one day, Roman said he gave away two of Suarez’s cats without her knowing about it. Then, she said, he brought one cat to her and said its heart had stopped beating.
It was tragic. Suarez and her children were heartbroken. They had a burial for the kitten, which was named Buttercup.
Then, on May 20, Suarez noticed that a black-and-white kitten named Oreo appeared to be injured. She immediately contacted her friend, Jacquelyn Gallagher, who had some knowledge of animals.
“We examined the cat, and we noticed the whiskers (were burned), so we asked him about it,” Suarez recalled. Roman eventually admitted to burning the whiskers and biting the lips off Oreo, Suarez said.
Then, Roman was questioned about Buttercup, and he admitted that he had “accidentally strangled” that cat, as well.
According to the report from the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, Oreo was removed from the residence and turned over to Palm Coast Animal Control for care and further investigation. A veterinarian from Banfield Hospital Palm Coast confirmed on May 21 that the injuries were consistent with the witnesses’ statements.
Suarez was later told the hospital bill for Oreo had reached $300 and that if she signed over Oreo to Animal Control, they would be able to assess the bills to Roman, and that Suarez would eventually be able to adopt Oreo back.
“My other cats have been checked on, and none of them have been taken away,” Suarez said. She was told a judge has signed an order to keep Roman away from the residence in the future.
Rollins said he was shocked by the incident.
Suarez feels misled. She said she did not know what Roman was capable of when she agreed to have him stay in the home. Medical privacy laws limited what could be communicated, she was told later, and as a result she feels she was not warned sufficiently.
“It’s ruining my life,” she said.
