September 2024

According to online court documents, Gittens (50) was arrested and charged with second degree criminal contempt and disobeying the court for violating the terms of his probation. He pleaded not guilty. During a routine visit by the Nassau County Probation Department and Police, four dogs and seven chickens were discovered in his home. A search warrant was executed to seize the animals; they were evaluated by a veterinarian and found to be in good health, the DA’s office said.

May 2023

Gittens pleaded guilty in October 2022 to animal fighting and conspiracy charges and received probation in May 2023

December 2019

Benito Gittens (46), a veterinary worker, and two other men were charged with allegedly running a dogfighting ring after investigators seized 29 pit bulls and other dogs from cages, a closet, and elsewhere in the men’s homes. The dogfighting charge emerged from court-ordered wiretaps in an ongoing ID theft probe. Gittens was accused of treating injured dogs so they could keep fighting and euthanized those that couldn’t recover; according to records, he wasn’t a licensed New York veterinarian or veterinary technician. Gittens was released without bail after he pleaded not guilty.