ORANGE COUNTY, Calif. – A 75-year-old Orange County woman is facing federal and state felony charges after authorities say she lured her nine-week-old puppy under a vehicle with food and intentionally crushed it to death.
The incident, captured on surveillance video in Santa Ana, has triggered prosecution under the federal Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture (PACT) Act as well as local animal abuse statutes.
What we know:
Federal prosecutors charged Hanh Minh Nguyen of Anaheim on Thursday with one count of animal crushing, a felony carrying a statutory maximum penalty of seven years in federal prison.
The incident happened on Sept. 8 in the 900 block of West Park Lane in Santa Ana, according to police.
Surveillance video showed the driver of an older Honda Odyssey minivan open the door, release the puppy, and drop food near the driver’s side to draw the puppy toward the rear tire. That’s when the driver drove forward, stopped the vehicle on top of the puppy for about 15 seconds, and drove away, officials said.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Woman arrested after video shows her deliberately running over puppy
An autopsy conducted on the puppy revealed that the animal died from a crushed skull that caused complete brain damage. The medical findings indicated that the puppy was alive for several minutes following the impact and experienced severe physical pain before dying.
Santa Ana police tracked the minivan using automated license plate reader technology and located the vehicle inside Nguyen’s garage, where detectives arrested her on Oct. 1.
Police stated that Nguyen admitted to owning and abandoning the puppy.
In addition to the federal case, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office has charged Nguyen in Orange County Superior Court with felony animal cruelty, animal abuse by a caretaker, and a felony enhancement for using a vehicle as a weapon.
What we don’t know:
Authorities have not disclosed a motive for the killing or explained why Nguyen chose to abandon and drive over her own pet.
What they’re saying:
Law enforcement officials and community members expressed profound shock over the severity of the act recorded on camera.
“Luring a defenseless puppy with food only to crush him beneath a vehicle is an act of appalling cruelty,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli. “Thanks to President Trump signing the PACT Act into law, we can bring federal charges for the horrific abuse alleged in this case. We will use every federal tool available to hold animal abusers accountable.”
Santa Ana Police Department spokesperson Officer Natalie Garcia characterized the footage as exceptionally disturbing for investigators.
“It’s completely horrendous,” Garcia said. “It’s very graphic and very sad to see that this person would do something to an innocent little puppy.” Garcia added, “This is probably one of the worst cases that I’ve seen of animal abuse.” Donato Orlando, the Santa Ana resident whose home security system recorded the incident, said, “It was horrible. I don’t know how somebody would even do something like that to any animal.” Orlando noted that “she left the wheel on the puppy for a good period of time” before departing the area.
What’s next:
Nguyen is scheduled to appear in Orange County Superior Court on Nov. 2 to face her state-level felony counts.
She is also expected to make an initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana in the coming weeks to answer the federal animal crushing charge.
The federal case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation alongside the Santa Ana Police Department, with prosecution led by the U.S. Attorney’s Environmental Crimes and Consumer Protection Section.
The Source: This report is based on a federal criminal complaint, affidavit, and statements released by the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, combined with investigative findings, arrest records, and eyewitness interviews provided by the Santa Ana Police Department.