SANTA ANA, CALIFORNIA. – Hahn Nguyen, a 75-year-old woman, was taken into custody on one October after a nine-month-old pitbull mix was allegedly lured with dog food to her minibus and then run over.
The dog, Blackey, succumbed to his injuries following the incident on eight September in Santa Ana, California.
According to Santa Ana police, surveillance footage shows a woman removing the black-and-white dog from a Honda Odyssey minibus and placing him near the vehicle. She then places dog food near the driver's side door.
As Blackey moved towards the food, the woman allegedly drove forward. The vehicle's rear wheel ran over the dog and the minibus remained over him for approximately 15 seconds before the driver left, according to police.
Animal control officers responded on eight September to a report of a dead dog in the West Park Lane area. A neighbour told police that she suspected the dog had been deliberately run over.
Detectives then obtained surveillance footage which, according to police, supported the witness account. However, the vehicle's number plate was not clearly visible on the footage.
Police released the footage on 30 September and asked the public to help identify the driver.
Detectives subsequently used automatic number plate recognition technology to identify the vehicle. The investigation led them to an address in Anaheim, where they found the 75-year-old Hahn Nguyen and the vehicle in question.
Nguyen was taken into custody and held in Santa Ana jail on suspicion of animal cruelty and animal abandonment.
According to police, Nguyen admitted that Blackey belonged to her and that she had abandoned him. She told detectives that she left the dog at a park because he had troubled her boyfriend by biting his shoes and other belongings, according to police.
Police say Nguyen did not admit that she ran over Blackey. The case is being referred to the Orange County District Attorney for consideration of prosecution.
Sources: Santa Ana Police, Los Angeles Times, ABC7 Los Angeles
This article is an automatic English translation of a Nuusflits article originally published in Afrikaans. Read the Afrikaans original.
