El Paso man, 69, arrested after being accused of torturing puppy at Ponder Park
A 69-year-old man was arrested after being seen torturing a puppy, El Paso police said Friday.
On Nov. 3, Carlos Jose Fernandez was walking a small black puppy at Ponder Park, 7500 WH Burges Drive, when a witness saw him mistreating the puppy, police said in a news release.
The witness said Fernandez pulled on the puppy’s leash so hard that the puppy was lifted off the ground. When the puppy fell, Fernandez kicked it with such force that it was lifted off the ground, police said.
The witness confronted Fernandez, who scooped up the puppy and fled, according to the news release.
Detectives with the Animal Cruelty Investigative Unit conducted an investigation and obtained an arrest warrant.
On Friday, patrol officers located Fernandez in the 7900 block of Sunmount Drive and placed him under arrest. Fernandez was booked into the El Paso County Jail on a $20,000 bond on a charge of cruelty to nonlivestock animals by torture, police said.
Jail records show he still was being held Friday afternoon.
Jail records also show previous arrests of a man with the same name and physical description on the same charges dating back years, as well as arrests for driving while intoxicated.
Detectives were unable to locate the puppy.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso man, 69, arrested after being accused of kicking puppy at park
