Los Angeles County Man Charged with Felony Animal Cruelty
Above: Puppy taken in by Animal Services | LAPD
A Los Angeles County man has been arrested after allegedly being caught on video throwing a puppy in a crate over a fence in Tujunga.
According to a press release by the Los Angeles Police Department issued yesterday, April 20, a video of a suspect throwing a caged puppy over a fence near Renaissance Drive and Cardamine Court in Tujunga in late March was brought to the attention of the Los Angeles Police Department Foothill detectives. The suspect was reportedly filmed exiting his vehicle, a brown Chevrolet Tahoe, opening the rear gate, grabbing a black dog crate, and tossing the caged dog over the fence.
LAPD Foothill Division patrol officers immediately responded to the area and contacted a resident who discovered the injured puppy along the Tujunga wash. The resident stated he searched for the dog after seeing the video on a neighborhood app but only found an empty crate, police said.
The Los Angeles Animal Services personnel took the approximately 2-month-old black female mix puppy for safekeeping and gave her a physical examination, which revealed several injuries that doctors noted were most likely due to the fall from being thrown inside the crate. The puppy is said to be recovering well and will soon be available for adoption.
Detectives investigating the case were able to identify the suspect with the assistance of the community. The suspect was identified as Daniel Arias, a 25-year-old man from Tujunga. With the help of the public, the detectives gathered information that led to Arias’ arrest on April 18, without any incident, at his residence.
Daniel Arias was booked on suspicion of animal cruelty, with bail set at $20,000. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office filed one count of felony animal cruelty against Arias, police said.
It was unclear at press time whether Arias had retained an attorney.
