A 19-year-old Riverside man who allegedly slashed and tortured a Chihuahua puppy in his apartment, inflicting ultimately fatal wounds that were depicted in a video posted online, was arrested Monday on a federal charge.
Angel Ramos Corrales allegedly perpetrated the assault on Feb. 13 in the 3500 block of Lou Ella Lane, in the city’s Eastside neighborhood north of UC Riverside.
Corrales is charged with animal crushing, an offense that refers to intentionally subjecting certain creatures to violent abuse that results in grave injuries.
He was taken into custody without incident and was slated to make an initial appearance in U.S. District Court in downtown Riverside.
The case was initially handled by the Riverside Police Department and Riverside County Department of Animal Services but led to the FBI’s involvement because Corrales transmitted the alleged acts via the online social media platform Snapchat.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, on Feb. 13, the defendant allegedly videotaped himself brutalizing the 4-month-old puppy, “Canelo.”
In the video, Corrales states, “I’m cold-hearted,” showing Canelo with a large gaping slash wound to his neck, according to court papers. He then kicked the little canine, prosecutors allege.
The video prompted multiple complaints to Riverside police, who quickly identified Corrales and went to his residence the same day.
“(Officers) found him with fresh blood stains on his clothes, as well as freshly cut wounds on his hand,” according to a U.S. Attorney’s Office statement. “Inside the residence, officers found the severely injured dog lying on a bed and observed blood spatters in both the bathroom and bedroom.”
Animal control officers were contacted and soon arrived at the location. The law enforcement personnel spoke to Corrales’ roommate, who said he “locked himself in his bedroom after observing blood spatter and the dog wrapped in a rug while Corrales was in his room, yelling,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Canelo was taken to the Western Riverside County Animal Shelter in Jurupa Valley, where veterinary staff determined the puppy had so many broken bones in his skull and chest that he could not be saved, culminating in him being humanely euthanized, according to investigators.
Corrales was booked into the Robert Presley Jail in Riverside on suspicion of animal cruelty. However, he was released on his own recognizance hours later with a criminal citation, as part of the county’s ongoing coronavirus emergency bail schedule, adopted under state guidelines to limit exposure risks in lockups.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, he later told investigators that he had purchased Canelo via a Craigslist posting toward the end of 2020. He said he did not recall the events of Feb. 13.
The defendant has no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.