MURRIETA (CNS) – A 30-year-old man suspected of hurling his dog over a
razor-wire security fence at a cell phone tower in Winchester and
abandoning him inside the enclosure was in custody today.
Robert Arturo Ruiz Jr. of Winchester was arrested and booked into the
Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta Thursday on suspicion of felony animal
cruelty and willful abandonment. Ruiz is being held on $15,000 bail.
According to Riverside County Department of Animal Services spokesman
John Welsh, sheriff’s deputies and animal control officers tracked the suspect
down to a residence in the 33000 block of Leon Road in Winchester, where he was
taken into custody without incident Thursday afternoon.
Ruiz is suspected of throwing his 8-year-old dog, previously named
“KO,” inside the hilltop mobile phone security perimeter near Flossie Way and
Pourroy Road on Dec. 15, leaving the canine trapped inside the space without
food, water or shelter.
“We were all extremely disturbed to see such a careless act committed
against an innocent animal,” Department of Animal Services Director Erin
Gettis said. “This incident was very shocking.”
Welsh said that a 1-year-old female pit bull mix was located at Ruiz’s
residence, and the pet was seized, impounded at the San Jacinto Valley
Animal Campus. It was not immediately known whether he will be able to reclaim
the dog when and if he posts bond.
According to Welsh, Ruiz may have abandoned another canine, though
authorities are still investigating that case.
KO, who has since been re-christened “Ken,” was adopted by a woman
less than a week after images of his abandonment were circulated.
Welsh said that, fortunately, tower maintenance workers arrived at the
location where the dog was deserted within a couple of hours and found him
dehydrated and leaking mucus from both his eyes, but otherwise OK.
The crew provided the pit with water — he gulped down three bottles —
and comfort until an animal control officer reached the site and
transported him to the Western Riverside County Animal Shelter in Jurupa
Valley, according to Welsh.
He said that Ken required treatment for the discharge from his eyes,
with the right one in the worst condition. There was no word on what caused the
ailments.
According to jail records, the suspect has pending unresolved
misdemeanor cases in Superior Court for alleged driving under the influence and
driving on a suspended license. There was no information on possible prior
convictions. Copyright 2023, City News Service, Inc.
