Story by Ethan
On January 6th, 2026, the arrest of Dan Bujor, age 68, was announced by Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz. Dan Bujor was charged with two counts of Overdriving, Torturing and Injuring Animals, Failure to Provide Sustenance, and Driving by an Unlicensed Operator. The arrest and charges against Dan Bujor were a result of an investigation handled by the NYPD’s 108th Precinct.
According to the Queens District Attorney’s Office, at approximately 6:00 p.m. on January 4th, 2026, an unnamed witness saw Dan Bujor driving a red Volkswagen Passat in the area of 11th Street and 43rd Avenue in Long Island City, New York. The bystander witnessed two leashed dogs attached to the trunk of the defendant’s car, being dragged on the ground while the defendant was driving. Soon after one of the dogs, a pitbull, became unhooked from the trunk of the car. Allegedly Dan Bujor exited the vehicle, grabbed both dogs to put them inside the car, then drove away from the scene. After the witness contacted the NYPD on-duty officers responded and located Dan Bujor holding the two dogs on leashes on the corner of 11th Street and 43rd Avenue. When asked for a driver’s license the defendant was unable to produce one. The two dogs were taken to the ASPCA in Manhattan, New York, for examination and treatment for their injuries. One dog was an approximately 2 years old German shepherd named Marzipan who suffered from a ruptured ear drum. The other dog was the aforementioned pitbull, named Nougat and was approximately 2 to 4 years old, who suffered from abrasions to her paw pad and wrists, inflammation of skin between her toes, and diarrhea.
The Queens District Attorney’s Office stated that the charges against Dan Bujor are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
