SACRAMENTO—The Sacramento Sheriff’s Department and Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District Arson Investigation Unit have arrested Willie Bee Turner in connection with the torture and burning death of a dog caged in a carrier on the sidewalk last month.
In the early morning hours of Thursday, January 22, Metro Fire responded to a fire in front of Oak Plains Masonic Lodge on the 3000 block of Becerra Way in Sacramento. What was initially thought to be garbage on fire was soon discovered to be a small plastic dog carrier that contained the charred remains of a small dog.
Metro Fire contacted the Sheriff’s Department and began a joint investigation to find the person responsible for this horrendous act. An arson tip line was soon set up and the public, along with private animal groups, began making donations to the Sacramento SPCA, offering a reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible.
Sacramento County Animal Control conducted a necropsy and determined the deceased dog was approximately nine months old and was a small, tan-colored, mixed-breed female. It had burned alive trapped inside the dog carrier.
Tips from the public and investigation produced evidence that led to an arrest warrant for Turner, 20, of Oakland. He was arrested at his home in Oakland, and is now in custody, being held at the Sacramento County Main Jail on a felony animal cruelty charge with bail set for $35,000. He also had an outstanding warrant from Alameda County for petty theft.
