| For Immediate Release Case # 11WF1778 August 2, 2011 |
Susan Kang Schroeder Chief of Staff Office: 714-347-8408 Cell: 714-292-2718 Farrah Emami |
MAN TO BE ARRAIGNED FOR ARSON AND ANIMAL CRUELTY FOR SETTING FIRES INSIDE HOME AND KILLING DOG BY SLITTING HIS THROAT
WESTMINSTER – A man will be arraigned tomorrow for setting fires inside his Stanton home with the intention of burning it down and killing his dog, Dexter, by poisoning him and slitting his throat. Jaime Arturo Garcia, 30, Stanton, is charged with one felony count of arson of an inhabited property, one felony count of animal cruelty, and one misdemeanor count of unlawfully causing a fire to property. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of eight years and four months in state prison. The People will be asking Garcia be held on $250,000 bail at his arraignment tomorrow, Wednesday, August 3, 2011, at 9:00 a.m. in Department W-14 or W-15, West Justice Center, Westminster.
On the afternoon of July 24, 2011, Garcia is accused of closing all the doors and windows of the Stanton home, which he shared with his sister, and setting several small fires inside the home by lighting piles of clothing on fire. The fires caused damage to cabinets in the laundry room but did not spread throughout the house. His sister was not at home at the time.
After the fires had burned out, Garcia is accused of poisoning his 7-year-old dog Dexter, a dachshund mix, by feeding him various pills. He is accused of then using a large kitchen knife and cutting Dexter’s throat. The bleeding dog ran around the house and into the bedroom, where he died on the defendant’s bed.
Garcia’s sister returned home to find the house filled with smoke and called 911. The Orange County Sheriff’s Department, who investigated this case, responded to the scene. The Orange County Fire Authority also responded to the scene. Deputies discovered Dexter in the bedroom and found blood from the defendant and the dog on the floors and walls throughout the home.
The defendant was transported to the hospital to be treated for self-inflicted injuries.
Deputy District Attorney Andrew Katz of the Special Prosecutions Unit is prosecuting this case.
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