Man Arrested for Strangling Girlfriend and Beating Puppy
A 19-year-old man who reportedly strangled his girlfriend and seriously beat a 5-month-old puppy was arrested this Tuesday. On May 14, officers responded to a veterinary hospital after an employee called the police because she noticed multiple suspicious injuries on a Miniature Pinscher that had been brought in for treatment. The puppy had suffered broken bones, cuts and burns, and wounds on its rectum and genitals. Police said the dog will likely have to be euthanized.
On Tuesday, police arrested Duanying Chen — a Chinese citizen here on a student visa — for domestic battery and animal cruelty after an investigation identified him as the suspect. According to police spokesperson Sgt. Riley Harwood, the investigation indicated Chen strangled his 21-year-old girlfriend — also a student — after a heated argument. The victim told police she nearly lost consciousness and later suffered pain in her neck. The two live together on Monterey Street.
The victim also told police she returned home one night after being gone all day to find the puppy hiding underneath a table, unable to walk, with the aforementioned injuries. Chen reportedly told his girlfriend the puppy had fallen off of a ping-pong table. On Tuesday, detectives obtained a felony arrest warrant for Chen and booked him in County Jail on $75,000 bail. Yesterday, Chen posted bail. He appeared in court on Thursday for arraignment, but the case was continued until June 20.
