A Los Angeles man was charged Wednesday with killing his family’s dog by setting the animal ablaze with lighter fluid.
Brandon Jerold Smith, 24, was set to be arraigned Wednesday in a Compton courtroom on one felony count each of cruelty to animals and arson of property of another, along with an allegation that he used lighter fluid as a deadly and dangerous weapon, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Smith allegedly hung his family’s dog, a Welsh corgi mix named Hennessy, on a fence and lit her on fire Aug. 22, prosecutors said.
Smith was arrested Saturday by officers from the Los Angeles Police Department’s Southeast Division and has remained behind bars since then, jail records show.
“One of the most important responsibilities of my office is to protect the most vulnerable that includes our pets,” District Attorney George Gascón said in a statement announcing the charges.