HAWTHORNE, CA—Ay, Chihuahua! It was a doggone shame that a soured marriage ended in the death of a dog and the birth of a litter of bad puns.
Michael David Parker, 46, of 13223 Huston Street in Sherman Oaks, California, was arrested on Friday, January 1 for one felony count of cruelty to an animal. According to a press release from the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office, he was also charged with animal cruelty and other counts. The L.A. County D.A. announced the charges on March 20.
The incident took place in an alley near El Segundo Boulevard and Doty Avenue in Hawthorne. The dog’s body was found days later in a bag by a passerby who reported it to police.
Police and news reports regarding the December 28, 2013 incident state that Parker used his vehicle as a deadly weapon to deliberately run over the small, 5 1/2-year old dog named “Cow Cow.” Video footage from the scene appear to substantiate the charge. Excerpts from two separate video angles of the incident show the 6’2”, 330-lb. Caucasian male apparently extracting something from the trunk of a dark four-door sedan. As he looks back to the rear of the vehicle, he enters the car. A small dog suddenly appears along the passenger side of the car and runs forward of the vehicle, then stands in front of it. Parker drives in reverse, aims the car at the dog and then clearly runs it down.
Both videos show the dog’s body left motionless in the alley as Parker continues driving onward and exits the alley.
The man’s allegedly estranged wife, Olga, has since stated she fears for her life and that of her three children.
Read more:
MailOnline: Husband pleads not guilty to running over family pet
LATIMES: Man accused of running over Chihuahua
