Shasta County Authorities Arrest Three After Puppies Found Shot to Death
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REDDING, CA — Authorities in Shasta County have arrested three individuals in connection with the murders of four German Shepherd puppies.
According to a press release by the Sheriff’s Office, the office received information on Thursday, Oct. 4, that four German Shepherd puppies had been found dead and discarded along the roadside in the area of Old Oregon Trail and Enterprise Dump Road.
The four puppies appeared to have been shot to death, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Officers with Shasta County Animal Regulations began investigating and learned that the puppies had belonged to residents at an address on the 800 block of Airport Road. The property owners were identified as James Wolf, 55, and Teresa Crandell, 50.
Wolf and Crandell reportedly told investigators that the puppies had belonged to a tenant who had recently been incarcerated, and allegedly admitted to enlisting a neighbor to shoot and kill the puppies because Wolf and Crandell did not want to care for them.
Authorities identified the neighbor in question as Kenneth Beaulieu, 24.
When contacted by investigators, Beaulieu reportedly admitted to killing the puppies and said that he and Wolf had dumped the puppies along the roadside.
On Friday, Oct. 25, deputies with the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office carried out felony arrest warrants for all three, and all three were arrested without incident.
Beaulieu was booked on suspicion of animal cruelty, disposal of an animal carcass near a roadway, and conspiracy. Wolf and Crandell were booked on suspicion of conspiracy.